Our favourite Giardiniera

Our homemade Giardiniera is incredibly good! This simple pickled vegetable relish, made with oregano, vinegar and olive oil, quickly becomes all the seasonings (it’s for me!).

You can thank Chef Richard for this incredible recipe. Walks the boundary between Italian and Chicago styles and offers the best world of both. You’ll find a classic mix of typical Italian-style crunchy vegetables and herbs along with olive oil, along with the heat of the touch that defines Chicago-style giardiniera.

I love this pickled vegetable relish and honestly, I struggle not to add it to my dinner plate every night. It’s crispy thanks to the vegetables. Thanks to oregano, thanks to vinegar, and thanks to oregano, there’s a complete punch. I’m obsessed. For more vegetable pickles, try carrots, dill pickles or these pickle beets!

Important ingredients

Vegetables: The crispy and colorful vegetable mixture makes this homemade Giardiniera very exciting. I use cauliflower, onion, sweet peppers (multicolored mini sweet peppers are my favorite!), carrots and celery. Garlic and Oregano: Fresh garlic is the way to go. Chop finely using 5 cloves. In this way, the salt water really takes on the garlic flavor. Dried oregano is also perfect for this. If you want to use something fresh, that’s fine either. Remember what you need more. The rule of thumb is to start with 2-3 times the amount of dried oregano called in the recipe and start to suit your taste. Salt and Sugar: We add a bit of salt and sugar to most pickles to add an inspired flavor. Salt makes the salty water seasonal, and sugar balances the vinegar’s stringy quality. Table salts contain iodine, so be sure to use sea salt or acid salt salt. Black and Red Pepper Flakes: Fresh ground black peppers give a better flavor to the Giardiniera flavor, while red chili pepper flakes add a hint of heat. It’s an option! You can use common crushed red chili flakes (like restaurants found at pizza restaurants) or try Gochugaru (Korean pepper flakes). I love them and use them on my homemade kimchi. They have some heat, but a bit sweet, so I use them instead of crushed red chili flakes in the dish. Pimento Stuffed Olives: These may be my favorite parts of Chef Richard’s Giardiniera. Just before transferring everything to the jar, slice them into rings and stir. Vinegar and olive oil: Reach out for high quality white wine vinegar for the best flavor. When it comes to oils, look for regular, more refined olive oil, not swelling. Since you refrigerate these pickles, using regular olive oil can help prevent them from curing significantly in the cold (but they can get a little hard). If you notice that the oil is solidifying when serving, let the jar sit at room temperature and return it to a liquid form a little.

How to make homemade giardiniera

I prefer to chop the vegetables to be rather small and taste better, so you will spend most of your time preparing them. For cauliflower (like my cauliflower chick salad), think about 1/4 inch portion for small “wood” and other vegetables. Chopping takes a little effort, but this recipe will be in stock for a while as it creates a large batch. Trust me, once your first jar is gone, you will be happy to go back to your cutting board and make another one!

It’s good right away, but the true magic happens in the fridge after a day or two. The vegetables marinate and the flavors blend to make them even better. The carrots and cauliflower are a little softer than ever before. They are still crispy, but not on the same level of crunch as raw. I can’t wait to give it a try!