Capers Recipes - AFTouch-Cuisine
Ah, capers! These little tart green spheres that transform an ordinary dish into something absolutely delicious. Often relegated to the role of garnish, they deserve far greater recognition. These unopened flowers of the caper bush, a robust Mediterranean shrub, have a history as rich as their flavour is intense.
Did you know that capers have been consumed since antiquity? The Egyptians already appreciated them, and we find traces of them in the writings of Theophrastus in the 4th century before our era. They travelled with the Phoenicians, the Romans, and integrated themselves perfectly into Mediterranean cuisines. If we know of their popularity in France today, it is notably thanks to Provence, where they grow naturally in arid and rocky lands. As asfaux shares in their comment on our Tapenade, these little treasures connect us to a culinary history far predating the great classics of the 19th century, taking us back to the ancestral recipes of the southern lands.
Today, capers come from several regions of the world: the Mediterranean of course, but also Sicily with its reputed varieties, Morocco, and North Africa as well. What unites them is this hot and dry climate that makes them so flavourful. Their unique taste, salty, slightly bitter, with a hint of hazelnut, comes from a substance called caprylate, formed during the preservation process in brine or salt.
In the kitchen, capers are essential for adding character to your creations. They work wonderfully well as an accompaniment to fish, try our Ma tarte aux sardines fraîches to discover how they dialogue with the natural iodine of fish. They also bring an irresistible Provençal touch to our Petits rôtis à la Niçoise, where they sit alongside olives and anchovies in a Mediterranean symphony. Even white meats are elevated in their company: our Langue de veau en salade gourmande bears witness to this, where they bring that gentle acidity that awakens each bite.
For more sophisticated preparations, like our delicious Tartare d'huîtres, capers play the role of the perfect ally: they spark interest without dominating, they structure the taste without crushing the delicacy of the raw product. This is the whole art of using capers: they must dance with the other ingredients, never outshine them.
A practical tip: rinse your capers in cold water before use if you find the brine too aggressive. Some chefs desalt them for a few minutes, it's a matter of personal taste and the type of capers you have. The small capers, capucines, are more delicate and refined, while the larger ones offer more texture.
We invite you to explore our recipes and let these little green marvels transform your everyday cooking. They are simply waiting for you to shine on your tables.
