Fermented Giardiniera Food

FERMENTED GIARDINIERA: ITALIAN PICKLED VEGETABLES

Steps:

• Wash and prepare all the vegetables as instructed.
• Mix the vegetables and salt in a large bowl.
• Divide the vegetables between 2 quart-sized jars. Add in the herbs. Everything should be tightly packed in, and it's easiest to do this by hand.
• Pour water into the jars, making sure all the vegetables are below the brine. Use a weight to keep the vegetables submerged.
• Leave the jar to ferment in a dark location (a kitchen cupboard is perfect) for 3-7 days. See the section above for advice on how to safely ferment giardiniera for up to 6 months.

FERMENTED GIARDINIERA

Steps:

• Prepare brine by dissolving the salt in water.
• Mix all the ingredients except the brine in a large bowl.
• Add them to the Fermenting Vessel of choice (check description above) packing them down as you go.
• Fill each jar with the brine, leaving 1½ -2 inches of headroom-the space at the top, between the rim of the jar and the top of the vegetables. Weight the vegetables so they are completely submerged in the brine.
• Cover the top of the vessel with a lid, coffee filter, paper towel, cheese cloth, or tea towel to keep bugs out and odors inches.
• Be sure to secure towels with a very tight rubber band or the ring from the canning jars.
• Place the jar out of direct light.
• Ferment at room temperature 4 days before checking the flavor. If you prefer the flavor more sour, continue fermenting.
• If to your taste transfer the jars to the refrigerator.
• Burp the jars once daily (to release any built-up gasses) the giardiniera does continue to ferment while in the refrigerator.
• This doesn`t need to be done in my home because we help ourselves to it daily.

HOMEMADE HOT GIARDINIERA

Steps:

• Combine 2 cups water and the salt in a glass or non-reactive bowl. Mix until the salt is dissolved. Add the carrots, cauliflower, serranos, garlic, celery and bell pepper to the salt water and stir to combine. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
• Day 2, drain and rinse the vegetables. In a clean bowl, mix together the oil with the oregano and pepper. Add the vegetables and mix to combine. Allow to marinate overnight. Giardiniera will only get better with time. After 2 days at the most in the bowl, you can place in air-tight mason jars and keep in the fridge for at least 2 to 3 weeks.

GIARDINIERA

Steps:

• Bring the vinegar, sugar, 1 tablespoon salt, the bay leaves, fennel seeds, red pepper flakes and 1 cup water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add the cauliflower, fennel, red onion, carrots and garlic. Reduce the heat and simmer until the vegetables are crisp-tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Let the vegetables cool in the brine, then refrigerate until chilled. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.

GIARDINIERA

Steps:

• Note: Substitute any veggies you like, and omit any that you don't like, but avoid green veggies unless the giardiniera will be used within a couple weeks; green turns gray rapidly, though they will still taste fine.
• **If desired, a more mellow taste can be obtained by using half distilled white vinegar and half rice vinegar or white wine vinegar.
• You do not want to use any colored vinegar, because they will give the veggies a dull, muddy color.
• If you followed the preparation directions in the ingredients section, you have already completed most of your preparation work, but there's still a little left to do.
• Rinse any veggies that haven't been done, and spin or pat them dry, or whatever seems appropriate.
• Place the squash and eggplant pieces in a colander, sprinkle the cut sides generously with kosher salt, and set aside for their juices to drain.
• Bring a medium saucepan, half full of water, to a full rolling boil, and fill your sink half full of ice and water; lots of ice.
• Drop the unpeeled pearl onions in the boiling water for 50-60 seconds to loosen their peels, and transfer to sink using a slotted spoon.
• When cooled, cut off the ends, squeeze gently, and the onions should just pop out.
• If you want to keep the different veggies separated so you can compose the jar (s) of pickled stuff, have someone help you transfer stuff from the sink to a colander to drain, then into baggies or to small dishes as soon as cooled.
• Otherwise, just keep dumping them into the sink, adding more ice whenever necessary.
• Blanch the peeled garlic in boiling water for 30 seconds, then transfer to sink.
• Repeat with mushrooms, bell peppers, daikon, radishes, green beans, carrots, banana, jalapeno, and cherry peppers, and asparagus spears.
• The cauliflower should be blanched for about 60 seconds, and the celery and grape tomatoes for 10 seconds each, just long enough to set their color.
• Wash salt off squash and eggplant, and blanch them for 30 seconds, then transfer to sink just long enough to cool, then blot dry.
• If you have no one to help, it will just take twice as long to do the blanching stuff.
• If you would prefer, steam the veggies, and double all the cooking times.
• Steaming is my preference, as it maintains more of the natural flavor.
• Regardless of other considerations, don't let any of the veggies soak in the cold water for too long, or they will get soggy, which we don't want.
• They will get somewhat soggy while pickling, and we don't want them to be any worse than necessary.
• If desired, don't blanch anything, or blanch for 10 seconds to kill any surface critters on the veggies, but the veggies will lose color faster.
• Some veggies will lose all color within hours, others will take longer; the bright red radishes will turn almost white, and the brilliant purple eggplants will become a pale pastel lavender color, but they still taste good.
• The green stuff will slowly turn grayish, which is the only reason broccoli isn't included in the recipe (other than the fact that Mom can't have it. Otherwise it would be listed as an optional ingredient. Go ahead and include it if you like it and don't plan to store the giardiniera for too long).
• To make the brine, combine distilled vinegar with all other ingredients in a medium saucepan over medium heat, and stir until everything is well combined.
• Turn on your stove vent fan.
• Although this stuff really smells great, it will definitely clear your sinuses when the vinegar starts to boil.
• Reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer for about 30 minutes for flavors to infuse.
• Taste, and adjust seasonings as desired.
• Remove from heat, and allow to cool for 20-30 minutes, but still quite hot.
• Strain through a coarse sieve, and rinse solids in sieve thoroughly to remove most of the celery seed and other fine grained stuff, keeping most of the mustard and dill seeds and the peppercorns.
• Be sure to incorporate some of these spices with the veggies when building the jar (s).
• While doing all this, you should have been sterilizing your canning jar (s).
• The easiest way is to run the jars and lids through the dishwasher on longest, hottest cycle, including the full drying cycle, and then put them on a towel in a 225 degree F oven so they can dry, and the heat can kill any bugs that didn't die in the dishwasher.
• We use 2 rubber-gasket one-gallon jars, but you can use smaller canning jars if desired.
• This will be kept in the fridge without being processed in a boilingwater bath, and it will still keep for months.
• Rinse, dry, and stem your chives, basil, dill, and oregano, if you haven't already done so.
• Break out the thawed artichoke hearts, and cut them into bite-size piece.
• Arrange all the other veggies on the kitchen counter if you are going to try to make the jars look pretty; otherwise, just throw everything in a giant bowl, and toss to combine.
• Pack all the veggies into the jar(s) fairly tightly, arranging them as desired; don't forget to insert the herbs as you go.
• If you end up with a few extra veggies that won't fit in the jars, throw them in a lidded plastic bowl that is just large enough to hold them; this shouldn't happen, though; ingredient amounts are pretty precise.
• Divide the brine equally between the jars of veggies; it's probably best to use a measuring cup, one cup here, one cup there, saving a little for the leftovers if desired.
• Top up the jars to the brim with distilled white vinegar.
• Use a chopstick, skewer, or skinny spoon to remove air bubbles from the jars, and tap the jars on the counter to help remove bubbles, repeating a couple times.
• Add more vinegar if necessary. Wipe off the top of the jars, and seal them.
• After 12 hours, gently shake or roll jars, turn them upside down, and allow to set for another 12 hours at room temperature.
• Place jars in refrigerator for 1-2-3-4 weeks to age and mellow, though they taste pretty good after just 1-2 days; it's up to you!
• They should keep in the fridge for at least 6 months... probably longer... but the colors will get uglier, and the veggies will get mushier.
• They will still taste great, though.

GIARDINIERA, SWEET AND/OR HOT (PICKLED VEGETABLES)

Steps:

• Sweet: Combine all ingredients and refrigerate in a clean, tightly closed glass jar for 2 days before serving.
• Hot: Combine the water, vinegar, and salt in a pan and boil for a minute or so.
• Pour the hot mixture over the vegetables leaving 1/4 inch head space and cover.
• Allow the hot peppers and vegetables to pickle in a cool place for 2 to 3 weeks before serving.

GIARDINIERA

Steps:

• Toast bay leaf and peppercorns. Combine vinegar, olive oil, salt, sugar, pepper flakes, and oregano in a pot and bring to a simmer. Add bay leaves and peppercorns. Steep 5 minutes.
• Strain bay leaves and peppercorns. Reserve liquid. Place vegetables in a 1 quart container. Pour liquid over vegetables and let sit for two days before using.