Kotopoulo me Kappari kai Pilafi me Fide -- Chicken Roasted with Capers and Rice-Fide Pilaf

I have a strange affinity for capers. I love their briney, tart taste and when cooking with them I often leave a handful out to just nibble on while dinner simmers. My husband, on the other hand, is not at all keen on these little green buds, so he pushes them to the side whenever he sees them in his dish.

I'm pretty sure most people have seen or eaten capers before, but just in case you were curious to know: Capers are the unripened flower buds of Capparis Spinosa, a perennial plant that is native to the Mediterranean and some parts of Asia. Once harvested, the buds are dried in the sun, then pickled in vinegar, brine or salt. According to sources, the caper was used in Ancient Greece as a carminative. Etymologically, the caper and different versions of the word in several European languages can be traced back to the Latin capparis, still some say that that term is in turn borrowed from the Greek κάππαρις. Another theory I read of, links κάππαρις/kápparis to the name of the island of Cyprus (Κύπρος, Kýpros), where capers grow abundantly.



Capers pair well with fish and chicken but I've also used them in a great parsley sauce over a simply roasted cut of beef ... and the results were divine. But I'll save that dish for a later date.

Today, I'm focusing on this chicken dish. I simply took some whole chicken legs (thigh and drumstick attached), dressed them with a lime and caper marinade, then roasted them to perfection. On the side I served a pilaf of rice and Greek Fide (nests of thin pasta--i.e. vermicelli) that I infused with lime.

Kotopoulo Me Kappari --
Chicken Roasted with Capers

4 whole chicken legs, skin on
Juice of one lime
2 tablespoons capers
2 garlic cloves, minced
Hefty pinch of dried Greek oregano
1/2 cup olive oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons parsley, finely chopped (optional)

Rinse the chicken and pat dry. Place in a roasting pan.

Whisk together the lime juice, capers, garlic, oregano, salt and pepper and then slowly add the oil in a steady stream. Once well combined, pour over the chicken legs and allow the chicken to sit in the marinade for about half hour.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Spoon the sauce over the chicken; add a little water to the roasting pan if necessary; and place in the oven for about 45 minutes or until golden.

Serve sprinkled with parsley alongside the Rice-Fide Pilaf with some extra sauce from the pan poured on top.

Lime-Infused Rice & Fide Pilaf

In a medium saucepan, heat a tablespoon of butter and a tablespoon or so of olive oil over medium heat. Add a handful of Fide (breaking it up with your fingers as you add it to the pan). Saute the Fide until golden and nutty; quickly toss in about 1 1/2 cups rice and give it a good stir. Add about 3 cups of water, plenty of salt and some freshly ground pepper and bring the mixture to a boil. Before covering, add a lime half (which you've already squeezed for your chicken marinade); cover the saucepan; reduce the heat to low and simmer for about 22 to 25 minutes. Remove from heat and after a couple of minutes stir the pilaf and serve.

Kounoupidokeftedes (Cauliflower Fritters) with a Caper Cream Sauce

Oddly enough the inspiration for this recipe came from a cookbook which is actually a compilation of Greek monastic recipes from the Iera Moni Tatarni in Evrytania, a prefecture of Central Greece. Two summers ago while visiting my husband's family in Agrinio, his aunt--an avid cook--knowing that I love the kitchen as much as she does, gave me this book, among a number of others, as a gift.



Now, to be completely honest, I returned from my trip and kind of set the book aside thinking there wouldn't be much to interest me in it. I stumbled upon it the other day while looking through my pantry for a candle to light and I started thumbing through it.


The recipes, I admit, are simple in terms of ingredients just as you would expect a monastic diet to be. Few herbs, and no spices, are used to flavor dishes. Yet there is a plethora of recipes; from artichokes paired with tahini, to cauliflower souffle, to crab legs "yiahni," to bacalao croquettes and tuna with wild greens. Not to mention that there are so many recipes documented here that one can make while abiding by the fasting requirements during the forty days of Lent.


Having just bought some cauliflower earlier in the day, I decided to use a recipe the book featured on kounoupidokeftedes (cauliflower fritters) as inspiration for the appetizer below. The original recipe called simply for cauliflower, eggs, flour, cheese, salt and pepper. I added some parsley (I suspect using tarragon may also bode well as it complements the capers in the sauce) and substituted fresh bread crumbs for the flour in the original list of ingredients to bind the mixture. Once fried I served these with a caper cream sauce that paired well with the mild flavor of the cauliflower.



Kounoupidokeftedes (Cauliflower Fritters)
Makes 12 to 15 Fritters

1 head cauliflower, cut into florets and steamed until tender
2 eggs
1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons fresh bread crumbs
1/4 cup finely chopped parsley
1/2 cup grated pecorino romano
Salt and pepper to taste
1/4 to 1/3 cup flour for dredging
Olive oil

Mash the steamed cauliflower. Mix in the eggs, 1/3 cup bread crumbs, parsley, cheese, salt and pepper to taste. The mixture will be quite soft.
Combine flour with 2 tablespoons breadcrumbs, salt and pepper in a shallow dish. Heat about 1/3 cup olive oil in a large skillet.
Form the cauliflower mixture into rounds and dredge in the flour/breadcrumb mix. Immediately add to the hot oil and fry until golden.
Serve hot alongside or topped with the warm caper cream sauce.



Caper Cream Sauce


1 tablespoon butter
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 tablespoons drained capers
1/4 cup sherry
3/4 cup half and half
Salt and pepper to taste


Heat the butter in a small saucepan until melted. Add the minced garlic and the capers and saute over medium heat until fragrant. Add the sherry and boil until reduced. Stir in the half and half and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer, stirring frequently, until thickened. Season with salt and pepper.