Giardiniera at Home

I thought I'd share my first stab at making Giardiniera, an old Italian condiment that can be used on just about anything. This is actually a pretty simple dish to put together, the ingredients are common and inexpensive. This photo shows the produce used,  you'll need 1 cup of small-diced carrots,1 cup of cauliflower florets, 4 to 8 Serrano peppers, sliced (depending on heat level desired), 2 cloves minced garlic, 1 stalk of celery, diced small, and 1 red bell pepper, diced small.

Here are the results of some pretty basic knife work. IMHO, it's a good idea to keep your stuff cut to roughly the same size for best results. There will be a lot of good smells in the air at this point, dogs and small children may start to show some interest in your activities about now.

After all of your goodies are chopped up and looking good, they get an overnight soak in a salt water bath, use a glass or non-reactive bowl. The recipe I started from called out for 2 cups of water and a 1/4 cup of salt. Try that ratio to start with, and adjust to suit. After everything is soaking in brine, cover your container and put it in the fridge for at least 12 hours.

Here is a close up of what we have after the veggies complete their salt water bath. The colors are beautiful. After soaking overnight, the veggies are rinsed in cold water, then packed in canola oil that has been prepped with 1 tablespoon dried oregano and 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper. From this point, you just put it in the fridge and let it soak in all that good stuff. The reason that canola is used instead of an olive oil is that the canola is a neutral flavored oil. With this dish, the veggies are the star, and the lack of additional flavor gained from using canola really lets their flavors shine.

Here is what you end up with when it's all said and done. (Plastic grapes are strictly optional) This is an easy and fun thing to make, and the results are well worth the time you invest. Your Giardiniera can be used on tons of stuff, I like it on pizza, it makes a nice adjunct to a hearty red sauce over pasta (Use lots of Romano) you could fold it into an omelet, you get the idea. If you have any questions about this recipe don't be afraid to leave me a message, I'll be glad to try and help you out with it. I hope you enjoyed our little excursion here, thanks for dropping by!