Nasturtium Capers
Annabel Hughes cooks, gardens, and forages in the Zambezi Valley on a farm upriver from Victoria Falls in Zambia. Read her blog at www.SavannaBel.com.
This recipe is featured in Making Capers from Nasturtiums in Zambia, Africa
These capers should last for six months to a year if sealed properly and kept refrigerated.
This recipe yields 473 ml (2 cups).
Ingredients
- 75 grams (¼ cup) salt
- 473 ml (2 cups/2 generous handfuls) immature nasturtium seedpods
- 177 ml (¾ cup) rice vinegar
- 177 ml (¾ cup) white wine vinegar
- 15 ml (1 tbsp) granulated sugar
- 3-4 sprigs fresh thyme
- 15 ml (1 tbsp) coriander seeds
- 2 fresh bay leaves, or 1 dried
Preparation
1. Place the nasturtium seedpods into a jar with a lid.
2. Bring the salt and 590 ml (2 1/2 cups) water to a boil in a small saucepan, and immediately pour over the seedpods.
3. Cover and brine for three days at room temperature, out of the sunlight.
4. Drain the seedpods, rinse well in cold water, and return to the jar.
5. Bring the vinegar, sugar, thyme, coriander seeds, and bay leaves to a boil in a small saucepan, and pour over the nasturtium buds.
6. Cool, seal the jar, and refrigerate for five days before using.
Annabel Hughes
Annabel Hughes cooks, gardens, and forages in the Zambezi Valley on a farm upriver from Victoria Falls in Zambia. In her blog, SavannaBel, she writes about the joys and challenges of creating, adapting, and executing recipes in a bush kitchen in semi-arid Kalahari sand watered by the Zambezi River. Previously, Annabel worked as a journalist and activist in London and Washington, D.C. She has been published in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, and southern Africa, and has worked for CNN International. Annabel moved back to Africa, where she was born and grew up, at the end of 2012.
Courtesy photo
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