Hot Italian Giardiniera

Ingredients Yield 10 servings

 

2 green bell peppers, diced 2 red bell peppers, diced 8 fresh jalapeno peppers, sliced 1 celery stalk, diced 1 medium carrot, diced 1 small onion, chopped 1/2 cup fresh cauliflower florets 1/2 cup salt water to cover   2 cloves garlic, finely chopped 1 tablespoon dried oregano 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes 1/2 teaspoon black pepper 1 (5 ounce) jar pimento-stuffed green olives, chopped 1 cup white vinegar(white wine vinegar?) 1 cup olive oil

Directions

1. Place into a bowl the green and red peppers, jalapenos, celery, carrots, onion, and cauliflower. Stir in salt, and fill with enough cold water to cover. Place plastic wrap or aluminum foil over the bowl, and refrigerate overnight.

2. The next day, drain salty water, and rinse vegetables. In a bowl, mix together garlic, oregano, red pepper flakes, black pepper, and olives. Pour in vinegar and olive oil, and mix well. Combine with vegetable mixture, cover, and refrigerate for 2 days before using.

Comment:

-Yummy! I did modify it a little. Used one large green and one large red pepper, 2 large serrano peppers thinly sliced instead of jalapenos, 2 celery, 3 carrots, 1 1/2 cups cauliflower, 3 large cloves garlic, 1 tsp Mexican oregano, 1 1/4 cups cider vinegar, 1/2 cup canola oil & 1/4 cup water.

-Fantastic!! The only change I made was to use 5 jalapenos. The peppers I had were very hot. This makes a ton!! Husband really enjoyed it as did I.

-Man this stuff is really good.... on just about everything. My favorite combo is to just use carrots, serrano peppers, and celery to mimic the traditional Chicago Italian Beef topping

-This recipe is just awesome!!! I used 1/2 of the jalapenos, because I'm giving some away to sensitive pallets. I used soybean oil instead of olive on another reviewer's advice and viola

-My family loved this recipe. Served with flank steak cooked in crookpot on sub rolls with cheese. So good. I only had three peppers, orange, red and yellow so I increased the amount of cauliflower and it turned out great.

-Use Soyebean oil - dosen't congeale in fridge

-Added more cauliflower....that's the only change. It is the best giardiniera I've ever had.

-Wow! Not even 48 hours marinating and the heavens opened up and smiled upon me. This recipe is beyond fabulous! We added mushrooms and used 4 serrano's and 4 jalapeno's. If you like spicy use all serrano. Used 1 and 1/4 vinegar and 3/4 oil, will do 1 and 1/2 vinegar and 1/2 oil next time. Also added about 3 Tbs of pepperoncini juice.

-Absolutely fantastic :) I followed PHONETEK's directions almost to a T, but had to improvise a bit.... The green bell peppers I purchased turned soft before I had a chance to prep them, so I omitted them alltogether, but upped the amount of celery & cauliflower. My bf said that I added too much cauliflower (oh well...)! I didn't think true giardiniera contained green bell peppers, but I looked at a jar at the grocery store, and, to my surprise, it does! I'll be sure to use them next time :) For a little fun, I used my PC crinkle cutter to cut the carrots. My only other change was to add a bit of olive juice to the EVOO/vinegar mix (maybe 2 T...). My guests were very impressed!

-I've been practically eating it with a spoon! I cut the recipe in half and made a few adjustments (no cauliflower, used a combo of Pinot Grigio Italian wine vinegar and Champagne vinegar to replace the plain white vinegar.) Better than anything I've had from the grocery store, as good as anything I've had on a Chicago style Italian Beef

-GREAT recipie!!Being originally from the Chicago Burb's this is just what I was looking for!! Sorry for adjusting your recipie, but i used "sport peppers" which are Serrano peppers instead of the Jalapeno's. Also, I used a 60/40 mix of olive oil/vinegar.

-So this is now my second time making this wonderful recipe. I still cut my veggies a bit larger for snacking. The first time while marinating the olive oil separated completely and was hard to mix properly unless I sat it out for a bit. This time instead of a simple wire whisk I actually blended the olive oil and vinegar together with a mixer, though a blender or immersion blender would work great. I also blended them first and THEN added that to the seasonings and olives, this kept all the pretty specks of color intact and there is very minimal separation of oil and vinegar/water. 24 hours to go and then it's ready... It's ready and delicious.

-I chopped my veggies larger, not diced. All I can say is FABULOUS!

-I have found one to two jalapenos to be plenty. It is excellent

-I didn't like the olive oil in this as it solidifies when refrigerated, next time I am going to just use water with the vinegar, any other suggestions?

-I honestly have to say that this recipe tops the best of the giardiniera I've ever tasted! It's not drenched in oil the way they are and it's SUPER flavorful. I'm not even through the 2-day waiting period and can't keep my head out of the bowl. I made the recipe exactly as stated except I cut the veggie's bigger (like back home) and doubled the olives (since that was always my favorite part of giardiniera. I love hot food and this was perfectly spicy following the recipe. I won't increase the heat in the next batch. I wish I knew how long this particular recipe will last. I canned it in several jars and hope this will help preserve it. I will NEVER buy pre-made stuff again! This is AWESOME!!!

-I guess unless you can eat this in 10 days...you're taking chances. This mixture of raw, hot peppers and vegetables in an oil base can support the growth of Clostridium botulinum. Therefore low-acid foods, such as vegetables, that are mixed with oil must be kept refrigerate

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Ingredients:2 pounds Small carrots1 bunch Celery4 large Red Peppers1 large Cauliflower1 pound Small white onions, peeled1 cup Salt4 quarts Cold water2 quarts White vinegar1/4 cup Mustard seed2 tablespoons Celery seed3 Whole chilies, fresh1 pound Sugar

 

Directions:

Peel carrots, cut in half lengthwise then into 4 cm (1.5 inch) long pieces. Cut celery into similar sized pieces. Remove seeds from Capsicums and cut into 2 cm (3/4 inch) strips, 4 cm long. Break the cauliflower into 4 cm flowerets.

Dissolve the salt in cold water. Dissolve the salt in cold water. Cover the vegetables with this brine and leave overnight. A clean (new) plastic bucket is a suitable container. After 12-18 hours drain the vegetables, rinse in cold water, and allow to drain again.

Select jars with glass or enameled lids. Wash and rinse well, then dry in a warm oven, 200 deg F

In a large enamel or stainless steel pan combine vinegar, mustard seed, celery seed, chilies and sugar. Boil for 3 minutes and then add the carrots and onions and boil for 5 minutes. Fill the warmed jars with hot vegetables and top up with vinegar to within 1 cm (half inch) of rim. Close lids firmly.

This recipe from CDKitchen for Giardiniera Chicago Style serves/makes 3.5 quarts

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Giardiniera

by Nick Kindelsperger on March 30, 2009

My first attempt at giardiniera was so bad I couldn't even talk about it, let alone write about it.  It was oily, bland, and just plain unappetizing.  It was supposed to go with my Italian beef post, but I just dumped the containers in the trash and bought a jar from the store.  To my surprise I kind of fell in love with the jar.  It started appearing on all kinds of dishes, whether they were necessarily Italian-American or not.  Its pickled punch accentuated other foods, instead of covering them all up. 

When that jar quickly ran out, I decided to give this very Chicagoan condiment a second chance.  Perhaps there were was a recipe out there that could actually work.  Part of the problem is that giardiniera is kind of a generic Italian term for "woman gardener" and in its home country you can find any kind of vegetable in it.  It's fine stuff, but it's not Chicago giardiniera, which is a little more fiery and a little less wholesome.  The latter is what I wanted.  I didn't want a nice antipasto, I wanted something crass for dressing an Italian beef.

Most of the recipes online are found on generic websites and just have a bunch of cut up vegetables mixed with olive oil, which I already knew was completely wrong.  There needed to be some kind of acidic kick, something to balance the aggressive heat and the fair amount of oil.

I had my first breakthrough when I found this random video from the Food Network show "Unwrapped". They were visiting agiardiniera factory, and it just happened to be the same company that I had fallen in love with before. Instead of just a bunch of cut up vegetables, they used pickled serranos for their mix, something I found fascinating. So that's where that acidic bite comes from. Unfortunately the process took nearly 8 weeks before mixing it with the other vegetables. It sounded about right, but I just didn't have the time to wait 8 weeks. I need giardiniera now.

Finally I came across this recipe from the Chicago Tribune. It brined the vegetables for a day and then stuffed them in a jar with oil and vinegar. That seemed like a good short cut. And the hefty dose of vinegar looked like it could solve a lot of my issues.

My only issue with the recipe was that it might have been a little too nice.  I knew that most of the giardiniera used in Italian beef stands didn't use olive oil or apple cider vinegar.  They would never spring for such luxury ingredients!  So I made two versions, one substituting those ingredients for the cheaper and more neutral Canola oil and white vinegar.  

Good thing, too.   

The olive oil and cider vinegar version was too distracting.  I preferred the clean sharp version of the white vinegar and Canola oil, probably the first time I've ever said that about a food.  It's a better condiment.  Next time I'll probably make it spicier and use more celery, and take out some of the red bell pepper.  I'm also wondering if I could just throw some already pickled serranos into the mix.  But that's for next time.  For now I have jars of vegetables that I've been tossing on everything I can find.  Eggs, bread, pasta...it could go on.

Giardiniera

6 serranos thinly sliced 2 red bell peppers 1 celery rib, diced 1 carrot diced 1/2 head cauliflower, stems removed and florets chopped 1/2 cup salt 3 cloves garlic

2 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes 1/2 teaspoon celery seeds black pepper 1 cup white vinegar 1 cup Canola oil

Dump the serranos, red bell peppers, celery, carrot, and cauliflower into a large bowl.  Sprinkle on the salt and mix until well combined. 

Pour in the enough water to cover the vegetables.  Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 12 hours.

Drain the water and then rinse the vegetables under cold water to remove some of the excess salt. 

In a small bowl combine the garlic, oregano, red pepper flakes, celery seeds and a pinch of black pepper.

Add the vinegar to the bowl and stir until combined.  Then slowly whisk in the oil. 

Dump the vegetables into some jars and top with the oil and vinegar mixture.  Cover and refrigerate for at least 48 hours.  They will last for at least 2-3 weeks.   

Comment:

-After a day the oil congealed. So questions:

1) Is there a way to fix what I already did as the veggies still taste good?2) How do I make sure it doesn’t happen again?

Answer: about the oil cogealing, try using canola or soy (Most “vegetable oil” is soy – read the label). I made a similar recipe, and had no problems with the oil congealing when I used canola.

-I then put a layer of oil on the top to help preserve them. They keep like this for literally years. When you are ready to use them, drain the jar and add the vinegar and oil dressing. Then store that jar in the fridge until it’s finished, and start again with another jar. The vinegar keeps any organisms at bay the oil makes a seal on the top.