Archive for November, 2011

Foraging Rome - The Great Caper Leaf Caper

November 14, 2011 - 2:12 pm 3 Comments

Capers plant growing on Rome's ruins

Rome’s archeological sites are rich in history, as well as food. Even in a city like Caput Mundi you can treat yourself to foraged food if you just know where to look.

I had noticed the caper plants growing on a lot of the ancient walls, but until I learned of a Cypriot delicacy, a story told by Katie Parla, it never occurred to me to touch for them, let alone cook with them. I mean, if you want capers you’d buy it in the market, right? Well, it’s not really that simple. Sure, you’ll find both caper berries, the big elongated green fruits, and caper buds, the beginning flower buds, at the market. But this was not what I was looking for. I was hunting for the leaves. After a bit of experimentation, and using a simple pickling process, I transformed the ubiquitous caper plant into a tangy side dish. The pickled leaves can be used to season meat, fish or vegetables or even make up a substantial ingredient in a Mediterranean salad. Once pickled the leaves will keep for a long time in the refrigerator. When in season you can use the flower buds and caper berries in a similar way by applying the same procedure as for the leaves.

 
Continue to the whole post and the recipes at Parla Food

 
Pickled caper leaves

 

Blå Kongo - Swedish food in Rome?

November 12, 2011 - 12:41 pm 2 Comments

Blå Kongo restaurantA while ago I visited what’s supposedly the only restaurant serving Swedish food in Rome, Blå Kongo. They don’t actually use the term “Swedish restaurant” themselves, but everyone else do! The owners prefer to call it a restaurant serving “ethnic cuisine” - which of course saves them from some gastronomic responsibility towards the Swedish. This city is not very well-equipped when it comes to good ethnic restaurants, and Swedish cuisine is no exception. I had heard rumors and opinions about the place and in the end my curiosity was killing me. So I went, had dinner and then wrote a guest post about it on a site called Tavole Romane (which is by the way a good place to search for restaurants in Rome).

 
So, head on over there to read my Guest post.

 
 

Swedish food at Blå Kongo

 

Blå Kongo
Via Ofanto 8
00198 Rome
Tel. (0039) 068546705