I find that having a few 'exotic' ingredients in the fridge or pantry, can elevate an average meal, to pretty darned good.
Capers are one of those things.
Many people don't even know what they are, and when presented with them in a café or restaurant, usually as a garnish for smoked salmon, tend to push them to one side and ignore them.
Capers are pickled flower buds. They have an intense herbal, salty flavour (a little like olives), and they taste brilliant not only with salmon, but with chicken, cucumber, other seafood and in tomato or cream based sauces.
My favourite way to serve them in in a simple pasta dish. This is great hot or cold...
Mimi's Spiral Pasta with Salmon and Capers
1-2 salmon fillets, pan fried and flaked with a fork
Sufficient cooked spiral pasta for your family
Zest and juice of one lemon
1 tablespoon of capers
Cracked pepper
All you do is:
Toss the cooked pasta, the salmon and the other ingredients and serve immediately.
That's it!
