JAS_OH1
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That looks quite lovely!
The CookingBites recipe challenge: capers/caper berries
- Thread starter Morning Glory
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I'm actually a little surprised that no-one has posted this recipe yet. Salade Niçoise
It's a classic Provençale dish which, originally, was probably just tuna, anchovies, olive oil, boiled eggs, capers and tomatoes . A dish for the poor. Green beans appeared from somewhere and the potatoes make it a bit more substantial. You can add cucumber, peppers, sliced onion, radishes, artichokes; whatever takes your fancy. Capers, however, are an essential ingredient, as they are in the Provençale tapenade. You can arrange it on the plate however you like. It's one of those dishes that is so simple and delicious that it's irresistible. It's one of my daughter-in-law's favourites.
There's also a "street food" version of this called Pan Bagnat (literally, wet bread in the original Provençal language) . Dump all the ingredients inside a soft roll, drown in even more olive oil; wonderful!
My apologies for taking the photo and forgetting to add the eggs
It's a classic Provençale dish which, originally, was probably just tuna, anchovies, olive oil, boiled eggs, capers and tomatoes . A dish for the poor. Green beans appeared from somewhere and the potatoes make it a bit more substantial. You can add cucumber, peppers, sliced onion, radishes, artichokes; whatever takes your fancy. Capers, however, are an essential ingredient, as they are in the Provençale tapenade. You can arrange it on the plate however you like. It's one of those dishes that is so simple and delicious that it's irresistible. It's one of my daughter-in-law's favourites.
There's also a "street food" version of this called Pan Bagnat (literally, wet bread in the original Provençal language) . Dump all the ingredients inside a soft roll, drown in even more olive oil; wonderful!
My apologies for taking the photo and forgetting to add the eggs
Niçoise was the of the first things that came into my head when capers were chosen. Ditto the classic Puttanesca sauce. I suppose haven't posted those dishes because they are so 'classic' and for once, I don't like tampering or changing them.
Having said this, not all recipes for Niçoise have capers in them...
JAS_OH1
Forum GOD!
Okay I am working on something for this challenge and am cooking the salmon as I write. I decided to make arancini stuffed with a mixture of salmon, lemon butter, capers, goat cheese, green onion (AKA spring onion), and asparagus slivers. Kind of a salmon and goat cheese picatta arancini, I guess. Never seen anything like it but the flavors sound like they will work nicely together. I am cooking the salmon in the lemon butter with caper brine. I thought about toasting my capers until crispy before adding them into the mixture of goat cheese, salmon chunks, asparagus and diced green onion, but I am wondering if I should bother as they may get mushy after being added to the mixture and cooked inside of the risotto balls as they fry? On the other hand, it may help the mixture bind better since they will be drier. Any thoughts on this would be appreciated!
I've now cooked and photographed 2 entries and another to come tomorrow. I just need to write up the recipes....
JAS_OH1
Forum GOD!
I'm already drooling over that crab dish!
Classic Tapenade
I've left posting this until the deadline is close because I was sure someone else would . The recipe was given to me years ago by Chef June Jacobs, who studied French cookery in Provence some years ago. She was very insistent that a "classic" tapenade had only FIVE ingredients. Absolutely NO anchovies ! Tapeno is the Provencal word for "capers", so the name really means "Caper Spread", even though the predominant ingredient is olives.
A look through Google produces variants, of course, and many recipes include anchovies, lemon juice and parsley. Then, naturally, there are the super-heroes who make Sundried Tomato Tapenade without even including capers...and the wonderfully ingenuous Wikipedia entry which tells us that "Vegan versions do not contain anchovies, because it is a fish"
What I love about June's version is that its no holds barred, Mediterranean spread. Salty, piquant, heavy on flavour; and that's how I imagine it was invented. Some of the recipes I looked at said to use a certain type of olive to avoid "strong" flavours, only one clove of garlic and to wash the capers to eliminate salt. I can understand this if folks have to avoid salt, but in my opinion, tapenade is an "in your face" condiment.
I've left posting this until the deadline is close because I was sure someone else would . The recipe was given to me years ago by Chef June Jacobs, who studied French cookery in Provence some years ago. She was very insistent that a "classic" tapenade had only FIVE ingredients. Absolutely NO anchovies ! Tapeno is the Provencal word for "capers", so the name really means "Caper Spread", even though the predominant ingredient is olives.
A look through Google produces variants, of course, and many recipes include anchovies, lemon juice and parsley. Then, naturally, there are the super-heroes who make Sundried Tomato Tapenade without even including capers...and the wonderfully ingenuous Wikipedia entry which tells us that "Vegan versions do not contain anchovies, because it is a fish"
What I love about June's version is that its no holds barred, Mediterranean spread. Salty, piquant, heavy on flavour; and that's how I imagine it was invented. Some of the recipes I looked at said to use a certain type of olive to avoid "strong" flavours, only one clove of garlic and to wash the capers to eliminate salt. I can understand this if folks have to avoid salt, but in my opinion, tapenade is an "in your face" condiment.
JAS_OH1
Forum GOD!
I'll be writing up the recipe later today or tomorrow at the latest.
Salmon, capers, asparagus and goat cheese stuffed arancini in a caper brine and roasted garlic cream dipping sauce (I will probably condense that recipe title, LOL):
Salmon, capers, asparagus and goat cheese stuffed arancini in a caper brine and roasted garlic cream dipping sauce (I will probably condense that recipe title, LOL):
The Late Night Gourmet
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You're right that anything that gets toasted will soften once it's mixed with the other filling ingredients. But, maybe toasted capers as a garnish, as well as untoasted capers inside?
For arancini, the rice itself should provide all the binding you need, though you may have to make it a bit thicker, depending on how much stuff you're using for the middle.
I'm looking forward to this...it sounds delicious.
JAS_OH1
Forum GOD!
Thank you for that! I should have saved some of the toasted capers for a garnish. I sauteed them in the juices (lemon, butter, and caper brine marinade) that I had cooked the salmon in, then forked out the capers and put them on parchment paper to toast and dry out in my toaster oven. Someone (might have been me, LOL) kept eating them because they were so good! I should have made extra. They were no longer crisp after stirring them into the salmon stuffing mixture but they were lovely little bursts of flavor in each arancini ball. And though it was a bit time consuming to prepare, it was worth it!
I love tapenade.
If you think you are cutting it fine with the deadline then oh! - I had six recipes planned (well actually more than six). Three are made. I'm hoping I will at least get those three posted by the deadline.
Would an extension help? We can always ask Herbaceous to authorize running it out a few days.
Yeah. It would. Here are my caper recipe ideas. Ticked ones are already made but photos not edited and recipes not written up:
... well, I can understand my scrawl!
Herbaceous
Über Member
I’m happy to grant an extension! Is a week a good amount of time?