Foraging Rome - The Great Caper Leaf Caper
Rome’s archeological sites are rich in history, as well as food. Even in a city like Caput Mundi you can treat yourself to foraged food if you just know where to look.
I had noticed the caper plants growing on a lot of the ancient walls, but until I learned of a Cypriot delicacy, a story told by Katie Parla, it never occurred to me to touch for them, let alone cook with them. I mean, if you want capers you’d buy it in the market, right? Well, it’s not really that simple. Sure, you’ll find both caper berries, the big elongated green fruits, and caper buds, the beginning flower buds, at the market. But this was not what I was looking for. I was hunting for the leaves. After a bit of experimentation, and using a simple pickling process, I transformed the ubiquitous caper plant into a tangy side dish. The pickled leaves can be used to season meat, fish or vegetables or even make up a substantial ingredient in a Mediterranean salad. Once pickled the leaves will keep for a long time in the refrigerator. When in season you can use the flower buds and caper berries in a similar way by applying the same procedure as for the leaves.
Continue to the whole post and the recipes at Parla Food
