Giardinera
3 Quarts
Ingredients
| Quantity | Ingredient | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | small | Head cauliflower |
| 2 | mediums | Red peppers |
| 1 | medium | Yellow pepper |
| 2 | Ribs celery | |
| 3 | smalls | Pickling cucumbers |
| 1 | pounds | Carrots (baby carrots are especially nice) |
| 2 | smalls | Japanese eggplants (up to 3) |
| 3 | cups | White-wine or rice vinegar |
| 2½ | cup | Water |
| 4 | tablespoons | Sea salt or Kosher salt |
| 4 | Cloves garlic | |
| 2 | smalls | Chile pods [you be the judge] (up to 3) |
| 12 | Peppercorns | |
| 8 | larges | Sprigs fresh dill |
| Olive oil to top off | ||
Directions
Some time ago, there were some queries about Giardinera, a hot relish used here in Chicagoland on Italian beef sandwiches, and much missed by transplanted Chicagoans. I don't remember seeing many recipes posted in response, I could be wrong. In any case, here's a recipe copied from Fine Cooking No. 2 (a plug and a caveat: thanks to my husband, I'm a charter subscriber to this fine publication from the Taunton Press--everything they do is good, as far as I'm concerned. But I haven't made this recipe).
Credit: Jeanne Quan, Fine Cooking No. 2 (April/May 1994): 27 You may vary the selection and proportions of the vegetables.
Method: Thoroughly clean and trim the vegetables, removing all blemishes, seeds, ribs from inside the peppers, and tough stems. Cut the vegetables into uniform sizes: 2 in. pieces, and baby carrots can be left whole.
Blanch the eggplant for 1 min. in boiling salted water. Pack all vegetables snugly into a clean glass jar with a clamp lid. In a glass or ceramic bowl, mix the vinegar, water, salt, and seasonings. Pour the mixture over the vegetables to completely submerge them. Make more pickling liquid if necessary. Top off with a ½ in. layer of olive oil. Store in a cool pantry for two weeks before eating.
Posted to CHILE-HEADS DIGEST V3 #229 by margo@... (Margo Hobbs Thompson) on Feb 1, 1997.