Nasturtium Capers

servings
4 servings
prep time
15 minutes
cook time
30 minutes
Glass jar with nasturtium seeds on a wooden table.

Close-up of a jar filled with nasturtium seeds, commonly referred to as “capers.” Courtesy photo.

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.

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gluten-freepreserved foodsveganvegetarian

About the author

Annabel Hughes Aston is an award-winning chef, organic gardener, forager and writer, who lives with her husband on a farm in the Zambezi Valley, upstream from Victoria Falls in Livingstone, Zambia. Annabel is an advocate for hyperlocal, plant-forward, sustainable dining. She has spent the past twelve years, since moving to Livingstone, developing an organic garden and experimenting with, and fusing, wild and indigenous ingredients with the produce she grows. She uses locally-produced dairy, meat and fish, while the garden, the market, the village and the wilderness make up the mainstay of her pantry: fresh organic garden produce, indigenous heirloom grains and seeds, bush fruits, tree nuts, wild mushrooms, legumes, roots, leaves and more, which she crafts into an ever-changing menu according to the seasons.

Courtesy photo

Annabel Hughes Aston

Annabel Hughes Aston

Annabel Hughes Aston is an award-winning chef, organic gardener, forager and writer, who lives with her husband on a farm in the Zambezi Valley, upstream from Victoria Falls in Livingstone, Zambia.

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