The market · Seasonings and ferments · Southern Europe

Capers

The unopened flower buds of a Mediterranean shrub, salted or pickled — briny, sharp, a little mustardy.

briny · tangy · pungent

What to do with it

Classics built on it
LyonnaisTablier de sapeurSquares of ox tripe marinated in white wine and mustard, breadcrumbed and fried, served with a sauce gribiche.No one here has made it yetGreekDakosA hard barley rusk softened with grated tomato and olive oil, heaped with soft white cheese, oregano and capers.No one here has made it yetMexicanPescado a la veracruzanaRed snapper baked or simmered in a sauce of tomato, onion and garlic with green olives, capers and pickled chillies.No one here has made it yet

Kinds

Salted
Better texture and flavour; rinse well.
In brine or vinegar
Sharper; drain.
Caperberry
The fruit, on a stalk — for nibbling.

Goes with

lemonbutteranchovyolive

Cooked with, here

–8 hours ahead marinate the fishbutterchopped parsleyflaky saltgolden raisingranny smith applehour ahead soak raisinjuice of ½ lemon

How much, here

Shio Koji–Mirin Halibut1½ Tbsp capers, rinsed and patted very dryDaryl · 1.5% of the dish

Knowing it

Where to buy
Italian delis; Pantelleria's salted capers are the prized ones.

Kitchens that keep it in

Provence — south-eastern France, from the Rhône to NiceProvençalOlive oil, garlic and the herbs of the dry hills, with tomatoes, fish from the Mediterranean and sauces pounded in a mortar.10 classicsItalyItalianNot one cuisine but twenty regional ones, united by a respect for a few very good ingredients and the argument about how each dish is 'really' made.11 classicsGreece — the mainland and islands of the Aegean and Ionian SeasGreekOlive oil poured freely, lemon and oregano, wild greens and sheep's cheese, and fish grilled by the sea — food for sharing, slowly, outdoors.10 classics

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