Caper buds. Capers are a distinctive ingredient in Italian cuisine, especially in Sicilian, Aeolian and southern Italian cooking. They are commonly used in salads, pasta salads, meat dishes, and pasta sauces. Examples of uses in Italian cuisine are chicken piccata and "spaghetti alla puttanesca". Capers are known for being one of the ingredients of tartar sauce. They are often served with cold smoked salmon or cured salmon dishes (especially lox and cream cheese). Capers and caper berries are sometimes substituted for olives to garnish a martini. Capers are categorized and sold by their size, defined as follows, with the smallest sizes
Bolognese sauce is often used for lasagna, whereas in Bologna (and elsewhere in Italy) "ragù alla bolognese" is used. Bolognese sauce Bolognese sauce (, ; known in Italian as ragù alla bolognese, , ragù bolognese, or simply ragù) is a meat-based sauce originating from Bologna, Italy, hence the name. In Italian cuisine, it is customarily used to dress "tagliatelle al ragù" and to prepare "lasagne alla bolognese". In the absence of tagliatelle, it can also be used with other broad, flat pasta shapes, such as pappardelle or fettuccine. Genuine "ragù alla bolognese" is a slowly cooked sauce, and its preparation involves several