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CAPER BASICS
Buying: Capers come in a range of sizes, from small nonpareil capers to large grusas, with surfines, capucines and capotes representing medium sizes. Available brined and packed in salt, capers store well for months.
Cooking: A perky foil for buttery, creamy dishes, capers are a classic addition to bagels with cream cheese and pasta with brown butter. Chopped with olives and herbs, capers make a pleasantly zippy contribution to tapenade.
PACKING A PUNCH
An unripened bud of the caper bush, capers are revered for their potential to pack a wallop of brininess in dishes such as veal piccata and caponata. Their salty, acidic jolt is a quick fix for vinaigrettes or sauces that need a tad more personality.
AROUND RVA
Chez Max: This French bistro's elaborate tableside Dover Sole features a luxurious meunière sauce of butter, lemon and parsley, gilded with zesty capers.
Edo’s Squid: Swordfish swims in a sea of garlic, butter, lemon, parsley and a profusion of capers in this maritime piccata.
Perly’s: The dill and caper tuna salad is such a star, you may not want tuna salad any other way again — add cheese to make it a schmelt.
“Capers are like an ace up the sleeve of any chef.” —Lauren Vincelli, RVA Moon Market and Mushroom Mania organizer
COOK LIKE A LOCAL
Caper-studded Focaccia With Lemon Zest
By Lauren Vincelli, Richmond Moon Market and Mushroom Mania organizer
Lauren Vincelli (Photo by C. Rose Vincelli courtesy Lauren Vincelli)
Event organizer and former Nota Bene chef Lauren Vincelli has always been drawn to the pungent flavors that capers bring to a dish. For this caper-studded focaccia, Vincelli says any size caper or even caper berries, the fully bloomed fruit of the caper bush, will work well. “Every time I make this, I marvel at the pockets of roasty, toasty, salty, crispy caper goodness tucked into every slice.”
Dough
2 cups lukewarm water
2 teaspoons active dry yeast
2 teaspoons sugar
3 cups King Arthur all-purpose flour, sifted, plus extra
1 tablespoon sea salt
Zest of one lemon
1/4 cup quality extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for the pan and finishing
Flaky sea salt, such as Maldon, for finishing
Nonpareil capers, rinsed, for finishing
Brine
1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt
1/3 cup lukewarm water
Directions
In a medium bowl, stir together the warm water, active dry yeast and sugar and set aside to bloom. In a large bowl, measure out and sift the flour. Add the bloomed yeast mixture to the flour and stir until it is just incorporated, then scrape the sides of the bowl clean and cover with plastic wrap and let rest for 20 minutes. The dough will be shaggy and soupy.
Add 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, sea salt and lemon zest. Mix at low speed (with dough hook or paddle attachment) for about 20 minutes or until salt and oil are incorporated well and the dough becomes a soft, smooth, shiny, stretchy ball. Add extra flour a little at a time if needed. Transfer the dough to a large, clean, oiled bowl and cover it with plastic wrap. Let the dough ferment at room temperature for about 10 hours or until it doubles in volume.
Spread about 2 tablespoons olive oil around the bottom and sides of 9-by-13-inch metal baking dish. Use a spatula or your hands to release the dough from the bowl and fold it onto itself gently twice, as you would fold a letter. Then place the dough gently in the pan. Pour about 1 tablespoon olive oil over the dough and spread it out with your hands, gently pressing or stretching the dough to the corners of the pan. Cover the pan with plastic wrap and let the dough rest for 20 minutes. Fold the dough onto itself again, coat again with olive oil and cover with plastic wrap to rest for 20 minutes. Repeat the process an optional third time.
Very gently remove the plastic wrap. Oil your hands with olive oil and press the pads of your three middle fingers into the dough to make uniform tracks in a grid-like pattern. Rinse some nonpareil capers in cool water and drain. Press a little sprinkle of capers into each dimple. Make a brine by stirring together salt and water until salt is dissolved. Gently spoon or brush the brine over the dough to fill the dimples. Raise dough in a warm place for about 35 minutes until the dough is nice and bubbly.
While the dough is proofing, preheat the oven to 450 F for at least 45 minutes. Make sure the oven is hot before you bake.
Sprinkle the dough with flaky salt and another drizzle of olive oil. Bake it for 25 to 35 minutes on the lower middle rack until the bottom is golden brown and crispy. Move the pan to the upper middle rack to bake for five to 10 minutes more until the top is golden brown and crispy. The bread should make a hollow thud sound when you tap the center.
Remove the focaccia from the oven and drizzle it with olive oil. Allow it to cool for five minutes, then turn the focaccia out of the pan with a metal spatula and transfer it to a cooling rack to cool completely. To store, wrap the cooled bread in plastic wrap. Toast before serving.
