Australian Caper Berry Caponata

The Beautiful Caper Flower & Caper Berries

When Julie-ann and I set up Paradise to Plate we wanted to champion cooking with seasonal Queensland produce but never to the exclusion of outstanding produce from other states that inspires us.  The new Australian grown capers are one such example we simply can't ignore.

You could be forgiven for not being a fan of capers.  Most of the capers available in Australia are imported in bulk and are not great quality with a notable exception being from the Aeolian Islands near Sicily.  Highly respected food identity, Maggie Beer has long been a fan of the Aeolian capers but once lamented in her food column for The Australian newspaper that there was no one growing capers commercially in Australia.  Jonathon Trewartha, a South Australian mining engineer read Maggie's caper article and it set him on the path of replacing imported capers with high quality Australian grown ones.  Unbeknownst to Maggie, Johnathon went on research trips to Mediterranean countries known for their capers and came back convinced they would be the perfect crop for the dry rocky slopes on the Murray River near Mannum in South Australia.  Devastated by salinity, the Murray River could grow little else but a hardy, deep rooting plant like the caper bush.  And just like that a new Australian industry was born in the form of The Australian Caper Company.

Jonathon Trewartha and son Alexander

Some years later Jonathon and his wife Samantha introduced themselves to Maggie Beer at a South Australian Slow Food event and presented her with their first bottle of salted capers which she inspired. Maggie says in her book 'Maggies Harvest' how delighted she was to receive Jonathon's capers and even more so to discover how good they taste.  Judges at VOGUE Entertaining and Travel agreed with Maggie by awarding the Australian Caper Company a Gold Medal in 2009. This year they are finalists in the Delicious Magazine Produce awards with winners due to be announced in a few weeks - Good Luck guys!

Australian Caper Company Salted Capers (front) & Caper Berries (back)

Australia imports about 100 tonnes of capers per year providing our young caper industry plenty of room to grow.  Currently The Australian Caper Company produces about 2 tonnes with a view to increasing that to 50 tonnes over the coming 4 years as more sustainability conscious growers come on board.

The hardy caper bush

I first heard about Jonathon Trewartha's capers at the Noosa Food and Wine Festival earlier this year when Shane Bailey of Berardo's used sliced caper berries to finish off his Queensland Tiger Prawns, Fennel, Grapefruit and Avocado salad.  Julie-ann and I were both impressed with their tart saltiness that gave the dish a real note of piquancy.  A few weeks later we discovered them for sale at our second home - Black Pearl Epicure in Fortitude Valley.  I took home a bottle of salted caper buds (which are picked daily during the hot summer months while they are still closed and tight) and a bottle of Caper berries (which form when the buds are not picked much like rosehip).

Caper buds

What to make?  The Australian Caper Company's website tells me that capers go with a large array of flavours but most often with Mediterranean ingredients such as - Fish, shell fish, poultry, lamb, veal, pork, rabbit and other game meat; vegetables (especially tomatoes and potatoes, eggplant) eggs, anchovies, olives and olive oils, milk and cream; most Mediterranean spices ( tarragon, garlic, onion, horseradish, parsley, basil, oregano and garlic, chervil, just to name a few).

Caper Berries

 I settle on Caponata, a traditional Mediterranean vegetable dish not that far removed from a Provencal ratatouille and I decide to mix it up a bit by using both the salted capers and sliced caper berries. Like ratatouille this dish benefits greatly from a good rest before serving which gives all the flavours a chance to get to know each other.  It's certainly hearty enough to eat by itself  (hot or cold) but would also make a great accompanying dish to fish or rabbit.  Here is my recipe:

Fleur's Caper Berry Caponata

Fleur's Caper Berry Caponata

2 large eggplant - chopped into 1cm cubes
2 large sticks of celery - 1cm slices
2 red capsicum - cut into 1 cm cubes
1 green capsicum - cut into 1 cm cubes
1 onion - 1 cm cubes
5 tomatoes - 1 cm cubes
3 anchovy fillets
1 tbs tomato paste
1 tbs sugar
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
400 - 500ml olive oil
45g jar of salted capers - rinsed and drained
12 caper berries halved length ways
1/2 cup torn basil leaves
40g toasted pine nuts

Heat 400 ml oil in large frypan until quite hot (smoking point).  Add eggplant 1/4 at a time - it's important not to over crowd the pan. Turning regularly until all cubes are well browned on all sides. You'll notice that the eggplant initially soaks up a lot of the oil but will render some back as it cooks.  Remove from the pan with a slotted spoon onto kitchen paper. Repeat 3 more times in 1/4 batches.  Make sure oil comes back up to temperature between each batch.  Add more oil if necessary. Then cook celery in remaining oil until soft and set aside with cooked eggplant.

In a clean pan heat 4 tbs oil and fry off anchovies until they disintegrate.  Add onion and saute over high heat for a couple of minutes.  Add all capsicum and fry for 5 minutes - turning occasionally.  Add tomato, tomato paste and cook for a further 2-3 minutes. Stir through the capers and caper berries and cook until sauce is thick.  Add sugar, red wine vinegar, reserved eggplant and celery.  Bring back to the boil and remove from heat immediately.  If serving now sprinkle with torn basil and toasted pine nuts.  Ideally leave in the fridge overnight to allow the flavours to meld.

A caper berry whole, sliced lengthways & sliced across

NOTE:   Maggie Beer adds 1/2 teaspoon of grated bitter chocolate to her Caponata.

PS: Julie-ann and I are looking forward to meeting Maggie Beer this Thursday at her Black Pearl Cooking class.  More on that later.