There are a few ingredients that professional chefs use that are very easy to incorporate at home to give your dishes a touch of sophistication. If you want to step up your home cooking without a lot of hassle, try bringing some of these ingredients into your pantry and play around a little. The best way to use a new ingredient is to try it. Find a few recipes that use a new ingredient and try it sparingly at first until you get used to the flavor.
The ingredient I want to talk about in this article is somewhat of an acquired taste. Some people love it right away and others, like myself, have to get used to it. If you don't like it right away you probably just need to find the right brand or way to use it. It's been used in Mediterranean dishes for centuries, including records of its use for medicinal purposes back in Ancient Greece.
What's this ingredient that everyone knows about but not many use? That adds a salty, tangy punch in a little package? Capers. Used in every Italian restaurant, especially the trattoria, capers have become a common ingredient in professional kitchens. The salty, briny flavor is used in many classic pasta dishes, salads, salsa's, and sauces. Pasta puttanesca, chicken piccata, and tarter sauce are just a few recipes we all are familiar with that use this little bud. Many of these are classic recipes that are hard to mess up, but how many of us are cooking with them?
If the variety available at the grocery store is any indication the answer would be not many. Tucked away in small bottles in the pickle isle on the top shelf, one or two brands basically identical to each other. They are a bit more expensive then most pickled items, but a little goes a long way. Unless you load them on, one of those small jars should make at least four good meals for a family.
Here is a great, simple meal I made this week using capers with chicken breasts:
For the meat: take the chicken breasts and even them out with a mallet or the back of your hand. I know, a little gross, but it's a chef's trick. If your not wanting meat all over and just have a few breasts, just use the back of your hand. You can do it while the chicken is in its original package, saving your cutting board from chicken goo. Salt and pepper the chicken and broil at a high temp in the oven until brown on top and just done. You don't even really need oil.
For the sauce: saute some garlic, a can of tomatoes, and capers in olive oil. Add a little cream and a splash of balsamic. If it is loose thicken with some cornstarch mixed with a little water. Finish with some chopped basil, salt, and pepper. When the chicken is done throw it in the sauce and simmer for a couple more minutes. It's a two pan meal that's very quick. You know what makes it? The capers.
Next time you make pasta or need a sauce for your meal, throw some capers in it. See how your family reacts. If the flavor is a little too strong, it's a good idea to rinse them in some fresh water. This gets some of the salty brine off so you can add more of them.
Ryan Brower is a chef, blogger, and gallery manager in Asheville, NC. I think about a lot of things and like to write about them.
Visit my website at http://ryan-brower.com
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