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Piquant capers perk up all kinds of dishes, like salads and pasta. "Anything that can benefit from brininess loves a caper," says smtucker. cowboyardee thinks, "They're a fine addition to a butter sauce for trout or other white fleshed fish, or as a finishing touch to cream-based pan sauces for pork, veal, even beef—they're good for cutting richness." One of cowboyardee's favorite uses is to deep-fry capers. "They come out crispy, flavorful little garnishes that can be used for nearly anything," he says. Try them in CHOW's Sautéed Brussels Sprouts with Fried Capers.
"Lemon and capers are such a happy match," says THewat, who recommends chicken piccata. Val adds lemon to this spaghetti with sardines, dill, and fried capers, which she calls "easy and sooooo delish."
"Try tuna salad with chopped red onions, diced celery, capers, and mayo," recommends Ed Dibble. "Simple yet more subtle and sophisticated." Chris VR uses the same ingredients, replacing mayonnaise with olive oil and lemon juice and adding cilantro. Sue in Mt P thinks capers are great in potato salad. "If you're into *serious* umami flavor, pair them with anchovies in a salad dressing," recommends goodhealthgourmet, who likes this recipe.
Surfwench mixes capers into soft cream cheese and uses this as a spread for roast beef sandwiches. mamachef mashes 1/4 cup capers into 8 ounces of cream cheese with 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon Beau Monde Seasoning, and uses the mixture to stuff celery or cherry tomatoes.
Discuss: I have a jar of capers. Now what?
There was a recipe in Bon Appetit back in 1998 that has become a favorite in our house, "Pork Medallions with Mustard-Caper Sauce" (recipe at Epicurious.com). Excellent way to use up capers.
An interesting alternative to capers in some dishes is pickled green peppercorns. They look pretty much the same (a little smaller), but of course have quite a different flavor.
Sometimes I'll take a...+READ
There was a recipe in Bon Appetit back in 1998 that has become a favorite in our house, "Pork Medallions with Mustard-Caper Sauce" (recipe at Epicurious.com). Excellent way to use up capers.
An interesting alternative to capers in some dishes is pickled green peppercorns. They look pretty much the same (a little smaller), but of course have quite a different flavor.
Sometimes I'll take a can of cannellini beans and make a sort of Italian tapa from them, adding olive oil, crushed fennel seed, garlic, capers (or green peppercorns), a small tomato, some green herbs (usually either oregano or basil, dried or fresh), white wine, and some grated cheese (or some combination of most of those ingredients, cooks whim). Sometimes a little smoked Italian sausage.
Not difficult to use up a jar of capers. :)-COLLAPSE
I like to throw capers into sauces: tapenade, of course, but try them in other sauces. If your salad dressing seems a little flat, try tossing in a very few rinsed capers and running an immersion blender in it for a few seconds. They add a nice little zing that isn't immediately identifiable as caper.
I also make an herb sauce --- my recipe's here, but it's pretty simple to throw together ---...+READ
I like to throw capers into sauces: tapenade, of course, but try them in other sauces. If your salad dressing seems a little flat, try tossing in a very few rinsed capers and running an immersion blender in it for a few seconds. They add a nice little zing that isn't immediately identifiable as caper.
I also make an herb sauce --- my recipe's here, but it's pretty simple to throw together --- that's just parsley (though you can add a bit of whatever fresh herbs you like: rosemary or basil are favorites) blended with lemon juice, lemon zest, a few capers, salt, and enough olive oil to keep it juuuuuust liquid. It's great over meat or fish, with crispy roasted potatoes, to dress up a fritatta, served over yogurt cheese or cream cheese as a dip, and in a thousand other ways. I make up a batch every few days in the summer and keep it in the fridge. You don't use many capers, but in something so simple, they do make a big difference in the flavor!-COLLAPSE
Love cracker with schmear of cream cheese, smoked salmon, sprig of dill and one or two capers. Mix capers with egg or chicken salads. Put capers in pasta salad dressing. Great on pizza.
If you have capers in your fridge, chances are you have an eggplant, carrots, and celery, onion, and garlic. Simmer with some chopped tomatoes and pepper flakes and you have caponata.
Don't forget Eggs in Black / Burned Butter. This simple dish has you put a large pat of butter into a small hot fry pan till it browns, add a heaping tsp of cf capers with their juice and heat for ~ 30 seconds and add one or two eggs. Fry to desired firmness and serve with the Black/Burned butter sauce over the eggs. Wonderful!