Giardiniera

As great as New England was, there are a few things it didn’t have: thunderstorms, our families (sentimental but important to us!), Michigan blueberries (though wild ones from Maine are a close second), truly Great lakes (sea monster or not, Lake Champlain, you just do not make the cut), and giardiniera. Giardiniera is a spicy relish made from peppers, carrots, cauliflower and oil that belongs on absolutely everything, but especially salads and beef sandwiches. And yes, it was one of the things I missed the most. Also our families. Have I covered my bases?

Although we’re back now amidst the approximately 40,000 brands and styles of giardiniera available in the greater Chicago area, we wanted to make our own. And why not? It’s a pretty simple quick-pickling of spicy peppers and other vegetables brined and then aged for a couple of days in vinegar and/or oil.

Chicago-style giardiniera is supposed to be spicy and use more oil, in contrast to more mild, vinegar-based Italian giardiniera. This recipe uses both in equal measure, and it tastes great. Make sure to chop the vegetables a bit smaller than we show in the pictures: larger pieces may look prettier, but they make it a slightly unwieldy condiment with huge pieces of peppers. That said, the Italian beefs you should be eating giardiniera on are a real mess of a sandwich, so perhaps it doesn’t really matter!

What you put in the giardiniera, as well as how spicy it is, is completely up to you. Cauliflower, carrots, celery, and red pepper would be fine on their own, but the spicy kind typically owes its heat to serrano peppers. Our local farmer’s market didn’t have serranos, however, so we opted for slightly more mild jalapeno and banana peppers that we could find. Their flavor was delicious when we we served this, but opinions were definitely split on whether it was appropriately spicy. You can adjust the spices you add as well, particularly the crushed red pepper, to dial in your optimal mild-to-hot level.

If you’re feeling like really stocking the fridge, this recipe should scale fine. As presented, it fills a quart-sized jar, so just heat-seekers can just double or triple as needed. It also keeps for a long time in the fridge due to the preservation of the oil and vinegar. Stay tuned to Craft & Process for a perfect Chicago-style recipe to pair this with (you can probably guess what it is!), but if you’re eager to get started with making your own giardiniera, this would probably make a tasty salad dressing, perhaps for our Grilled Romaine Salad!

Print

Giardiniera

A medium hot Chicago-style vinegar and oil giardiniera featuring jalapeño and banana peppers. Serve as a relish on salads or sandwiches. Inspired by New York Times Cooking.

Course: Condiments

Cuisine: Italian

Servings: 1 quart

Ingredients

• 1 jalapeño pepper
• 1 banana pepper
• 1 red bell pepper
• 2 celery stalk
• 1 medium carrot
• ½ head cauliflower
• 1 clove garlic minced
• ¼ cup salt
• ¼ tsp crushed red pepper optional
• ½ Tbsp yellow mustard seeds
• ½ Tbsp black peppercorns
• ½ tsp oregano
• ½ cup white vinegar
• ½ cup grapeseed oil or other neutral flavored oil

Recipe

1. Roughly dice the jalapeño pepper, banana pepper, bell pepper, celery stalks, carrot, and cauliflower into small pieces, ¼-½ inch in size.
2. Mix vegetables in a bowl with ¼ cup of salt. Cover with water and place a plate or weight on top to keep them submerged in the brine. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set aside overnight or up to 24 hours.
3. The next day, sanitize a quart-sized jar and lid.
4. Pour the bowl of brined vegetables through a colander to collect the vegetables. Discard brine. Rinse the vegetables once more with cold water.
5. Mix the garlic, crushed red pepper, yellow mustard seeds, black peppercorns, and oregano into the vegetables.

6. Pack the vegetables into the quart jar, stopping every so often to push the vegetables deep into the jar and crush them together. A thick spatula, heavy pestle, or tamper from a Vitamix blender work well for this.

7. Whisk the vinegar and oil in a separate bowl until emulsified.
8. Add vinegar and oil emulsification to the quart sized jar, using a fork or spatula to shift vegetables around and let the liquid permeate.
9. Cover jar and let the flavors marinate together in fridge for at least 48 hours.