Giardiniera (HOT)

It is that time of the year. Harvesting the peppers. In our area, you can pick up hot peppers for a song. A basket of long hots or cherry peppers are very reasonable. We begin to make with a mixture of  vegetables a common cold bath recipe knows as Giardiniera. Borrowing from my name....Giardino (Garden in Italian), they simply are a garden brine of vegetables. I love this as a topping to crackers and cheese. You will also.

Ingredients

Cauliflower

Peppers (Cherry, Long Hot)

Carrots

Onion

Celery

Garlic Cloves

Italian Mix of Parsley and Oregano

2 cups White Vinegar

1 cup Oil (Olive or Vegetable)

Pickling Salt (2 tsp)

Cracked Pepper (1tsp)

Canning Jars

Slice and dice the vegetables to your liking. I prefer cuts that I can top on a cracker as a measurement guide. Rinse and soak in water over night with some pickling salt. Rinse in the morning and set aside.

At the bottom of your jars add the seasonings on the bottom. Next, add the vegetables just shy of the rim. Add a mixture of 2/3rds vinegar and 1/3 oil. Seal and set in the back of your refrigerator. Within 24hrs you have Giardiniera. Experiment with your recipe. You can make regular Giardiniera without hot peppers. Enjoy!