Homemade Giardiniera Recipe
A pickled Italian-style vegetable mix made with cauliflower, carrots, celery, peppers, olives, garlic, herbs, and oils, refrigerated to develop flavor.
Servings: 32 servings
Ingredients
Ingredients
- 1 small head of cauliflower trimmed into small florets
- 3 small-diced ribs of celery
- 4 peeled and small diced carrots
- 1 seeded and small diced red bell pepper
- 1 seeded and small diced green bell pepper
- 1 seeded and small diced jalapeño
- 1 seeded and small diced serrano pepper
- 4 finely minced garlic cloves
- 15 ouncecan green olives reserve the olive juice brine which should be 1 cup
- 1 cupwhite vinegar
- 1 cupolive oil
- 1 cupavocado or neutral-flavored oil
- 1 tablespoondry oregano
- 2 teaspoonscelery seed
- 1/3 cupcoarse salt
Instructions
Instructions
- Trim the cauliflower into small florets. Peel and small-dice the 4 carrots. Small-dice the 3 ribs of celery. Seed and small-dice the red bell pepper, the green bell pepper, the jalapeño, and the serrano pepper. Set all prepared vegetables aside in a large bowl.
- Add 1/3 cup coarse salt to the bowl with the prepared vegetables and mix thoroughly so the salt is evenly distributed.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight or for at least 6 hours to season and draw out moisture.
- The next day, drain the vegetables in a colander and rinse them under cold running water to remove excess salt. Drain well and gently press or pat the vegetables to remove excess water.
- Open the 15-ounce can of green olives and reserve the olive juice brine (should be about 1 cup). Slice or small-dice the olives to match the size of the vegetables.
- In a large, clean bowl combine the drained, rinsed vegetables, the diced olives, 4 finely minced garlic cloves, 1 tablespoon dry oregano, and 2 teaspoons celery seed. Toss to combine.
- Add the reserved 1 cup olive brine, 1 cup white vinegar, 1 cup olive oil, and 1 cup avocado or neutral-flavored oil to the bowl. Stir until everything is evenly coated.
- Pack the giardiniera mixture into jars, leaving a little headspace, and seal the jars.
- Refrigerate the jars for 24 hours before consuming to allow the flavors to develop.
Equipment
- Large Bowl
- Colander
- Plastic Wrap
- jars
- Knife
- Cutting Board
Notes
Notes
Make-Ahead:
Whether storing in the refrigerator or canning, you can make this up to several days ahead.
How to Store:
If making refrigerator giardiniera, it can last up to 3 weeks covered in the refrigerator. When canning, it can last sealed and stored in a cool, dark place for up to 6 months.
This will
get more intense in flavor with time as the flavors will begin to come out and marry.
You can
also make this recipe by processing them in sterilized jars and submerging them in water for 20 minutes.
There does
not need to be an exact measurement of the vegetables, so their size does not matter and will not alter the flavor. In addition, if you happen to like a certain ingredient that’s used, then I encourage you to use more of it.
Make-Ahead:
Whether storing in the refrigerator or canning, you can make this up to several days ahead.
How to Store:
If making refrigerator giardiniera, it can last up to 3 weeks covered in the refrigerator. When canning, it can last sealed and stored in a cool, dark place for up to 6 months.
This will
get more intense in flavor with time as the flavors will begin to come out and marry.
You can
also make this recipe by processing them in sterilized jars and submerging them in water for 20 minutes.
There does
not need to be an exact measurement of the vegetables, so their size does not matter and will not alter the flavor. In addition, if you happen to like a certain ingredient that’s used, then I encourage you to use more of it.