I had always thought of capers as just a quirky little berry that made bagels and lox especially tasty and left it at that. That was until a few years ago when I came across a dish that had fried capers in it, yes I said FRIED capers! At that moment when I popped those crispy little buds of tangy goodness into my mouth, it was LOVE at first bite. Who could imagine that something so simple, small and green could pack such an amazing punch of flavor and crunchy texture. When fried, they morph from those soft little green buds into crispy crunchy blossoms that make an amazing addition to darn near any salad, pasta or fish dish… not to mention an unbelievable garnish for appetizers.
Capers are actually the edible flower buds of the Capparis spinosa otherwise known as Finder’s Rose. They contain powerful anitoxidants and even contain healthy levels of vitamins such as vitamin A, vitamin K, niacin, and riboflavin. Who knew!
Capers…BEFORE
Capers…AFTER
- 2 tablespoons drained nonpareil capers (nonpareil simply designates their size)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- small skillet
- First you need to rinse the capers to remove excess salt.
- Pat them dry with paper towels.
- Heat the oil in the skillet over medium-high heat.
- When the oil is hot, add the capers and fry occasionally shaking the pan or stirring until most of them open like flowers and become crisp and slightly brown.
- This should take about 2-3 minutes.
- Remove the skillet from the heat and using a spoon transfer the capers to a dry paper towel to drain.
- Try not to eat them all before you need them!
