Summer Giardiniera





 



Summer Giardiniera

"You can savor the goodness of summer's bounty all year long."

 

-cgj

 

In making this recipe, most of your time is spent in prepping the vegetables.

I actually started washing, slicing and chopping the evening before on a weeknight and completed the canning the next evening.  Just refrigerate after prepping until ready to can.  It just takes a little planning and a couple of free evenings or a weekend day to have the goodness of summertime all year.  Last Friday, we had a few friends over to start celebrating the holiday weekend.  I opened the first jar of Summer Giardiniera and used it to make a crostini appetizer, yum!  Use your imagination, the possibilities are endless. 

 

Veggies prepped and ready to mix 

Tip: Use a large roasting pan to mix
veggies in so that they are evenly distributed
before packing into the jars

 

Sterilized jars with garlic, bay leaf, peppercorns

and oregano ready to be packed with veggies

 

Unless you have multiple canning vessels,

you will need to process in batches

 

 

 

 

Let the Giardiniera sit for at least a couple of weeks

so that the flavor can develop 

 

 

 

Recipe:

 

1 cauliflower, cut into small florets

5 red bell peppers, seeded and chopped medium

9 carrots, peeled...make sticks then chop medium

1 bundle asparagus, separate woody stem from tender part, cut into 1 inch pieces

1 pound frozen pearl onions

3 banana peppers, seeded then chopped medium

2 yellow onions, chopped medium

3 cups green olives, rough chop

garlic - 4 cloves per jar 

bay leaves - 1 per jar

peppercorns - 1/2 teaspoon per jar

2 sprigs oregano per jar

16 teaspoons kosher salt

8 cups vinegar

8 cups water

Olive Oil - 1 tablespoon per jar

 

Sterilize 12 pint jars and lids

Wash and prepare vegetables as instucted above

Place bay leaves, peppercorns, garlic and oregano in jars

Pack vegetables in jars to within 1 inch of rim

Heat together vinegar, water and kosher salt just til boiling

Pour vinegar solution over vegetables to within 1/2 inch of rim

Add olive oil to each jar

Wipe off rims, screw on lids

Process jars in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes

 

Let the jars rest undisturbed for 2 weeks for the flavor to develop.  Refrigerate unused portions of opened jars for up to 1 week.  Store jars in a cool dark place and consume within a year.

 

 

For more information about food safety and canning, please refer to the link below:

http://nchfp.uga.edu/publications/publications_usda.html

 

Tips:

1) Try your Summer Giardiniera on Crostini with provolone cheese and salami

2) ...on your favorite sandwich

3) ...or salad

4) If you need more vinegar solution the base recipe is 1 cup vinegar, 1 cup water and 2 teaspoons of kosher salt

 

Enjoy

 

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