Makes about 6 pints. Giardiniera makes Italian sandwiches pop, if you’re not simply enjoying it straight from the jar. This recipe, from The Joy of Pickling by Linda Ziedrich calls for 2 ½ quarts of vegetables.
Ingredients:
½ pound pickling cucumbers, trimmed and sliced crosswise into ½” chunks 2 celery stalks, cut crosswise into ¾” pieces 5 teaspoons pickling salt ½ small cauliflower head, broken and cut into florets 1 large carrot, sliced into 3/16” rounds 1 cup whole shallots or very small onions ½ pound long sweet peppers, seeded and cut into ¾” rings 6 Mediterranean bay leaves 12 garlic cloves 1 ½ teaspoons whole black peppercorns 6 oregano sprigs 2 ¾ cups white wine vinegar 2 ½ cups water 6 tablespoons olive oil
Preparation:
Toss cucumbers and celery with 1 teaspoon salt and let stand at room temperature for 1 to 2 hours. Drain well. In a large bowl, combine cucumbers and celery with remaining vegetables.
Into each of 6 sterilized pint jars, put 1 bay leaf, 2 garlic cloves, and ¼ teaspoon peppercorns. Pack the jars with h vegetables, add 1 oregano sprig to each jar. Gently shake jars to settle the vegetables.
In a saucepan, bring to a boil the vinegar, water, and remaining 4 teaspoons salt, stirring to dissolve the salt. Pour the hot liquid over the vegetables, leaving just a bit more than ½ inch headspace. Top each jar with 1 tablespoon olive oil and seal the jar with a ring and a fresh lid. Process the jars in a boiling water bath for 20 minutes.
Store cooled jars in a cool, dry, dark place for at least weeks before eating the pickles. After opening a jar, store it in the refrigerator.