Having moved to the Chicago area from Wisconsin just after college, I immediately had several important food-related Chicago "firsts". First up was the deep dish style pizza the city is most known for. Second was the experience of being yelled at by the owner of a well known hotdog stand (as well as other customers) for asking for ketchup on my hotdog - - what I have now learned is an unforgivable sin. At the time I thought it was crazy, but after more than a decade of living here I can't even imagine putting ketchup on anything but fries. Consider me indoctrinated.
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| Gather all your ingredients together |
The third, and probably most memorable food "first" was when a friend and Chicago native introduced me to the glorious concoction that is Giardiniera. (Pronounced JAR-DIH-NAIR-AH) This amazing combination of vegetables - - crunchy, and salty and spicy - - in a seasoned oil dressing, is like nothing I had tried before. In Chicago, it is (ironically) almost like their ketchup, meaning they put it on everything! It is most known for being served on Italian Beef sandwiches but that is really just the beginning. It makes a great topping for any sandwich, burger, hotdog, or brat and is even great as a topping on pizza. You can add it to scrambled eggs, pulled pork or even just serve it as a condiment alongside a cheese board, or as an antipasto. The briny combination is a perfect contrast to rich cheeses and meats.
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You can cut your veggies to
whatever size you prefer. |
There are extremely hot versions of Giardiniera and there are some milder ones. The beauty of making it at home is that you can customize it to your exact liking. While I provided my recipe below you can experiment and make it just way you want it. The ingredients you choose are another variable, although die hard Chicagoans might not agree with me on that. My recipe, for example, doesn't use green olives because neither my husband or I are a huge fan. It also does not have celery because I just don't like the flavor of raw celery in anything except my Bloody Mary's.
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| Veggies in their salty brine |
Making this recipe is quite easy, it just takes a little pre-planning since it takes a few days. But none of the steps are difficult. And, since the finished product will last in the fridge for several weeks (if you can keep from eating it all!) making a larger batch is a good idea in the summer months. That ensures you will have it at the ready for cookouts and quick throw together dinners. It is one of those "secret" ingredients that can take a boring pork tenderloin sandwich from "so-so" to amazing.
So let's get started so you can get one step closer to having this in your fridge. The first thing you need to do is chop up all your raw veggies into small pieces. If you are planning to use the Giardiniera as more of a condiment you want the pieces to be small enough to sit easily on a burger or sandwich.
Combine 4 cups of water in a glass (or non-reactive) bowl with the salt, and stir until dissolved. Add the raw veggies and stir to combine. (Don't add the pickles or the banana peppers at this stage) Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate the mixture over night.
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Rinse the brined veggies well
to control the saltiness. |
On day two, drain and rinse the veggies in a colander. You will want to rinse them very well - - I took the drained veggies and soaked them in fresh cold water for about 5 minutes just to really get them rinsed thoroughly. If you want your final product to be on the saltier side then you don't have to worry about this extra step. As you often hear me say, to make tasty food you have to taste it along the way. The same holds true for this recipe. The only way to know how the brined veggies turned out is to taste them. This will help you determine if you want to rinse them more or not. They will be salty, but remember you are going to marinate them in oil and seasonings which will counter some of that, so you do want them to have somewhat of a salty bite to them.
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All ingredients combined
in the bowl, becoming tastier
by the second! |
In a clean bowl, combine the oil, dried oregano, red pepper flake and black pepper. Add in the rinsed veggies, the diced up pickles and the banana peppers. Stir well to combine and allow to marinate for several hours. At this stage, the mixture will look like the finished product, but it will need a little time to really come together. The best part is that it only gets better with time.
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| Close up of the finished product |
After it has marinated for a bit, go ahead and give it a taste - - try to control yourself and not eat half the batch with a bunch of crusty bread, licking the oil as it is running down your fingers hoping no one comes into the kitchen and sees you.... well, I did manage to save some of it! :)
Place the finished mixture into mason jars (or other well sealed containers) and you are good to go. The jars will keep in the fridge for 2-3 weeks if necessary, but I think you will find that it is hard to keep from using it up quickly. It really is one of the best things about Chicago food classics and the memories I have about when I first moved here. With Spring weather finally upon us, I can't wait to light up the grill, serve this up alongside a hotdog (sans ketchup of course) and listen to a baseball game on the radio with my husband. Sometimes, the best things in life are the simple ones.
Recipe:
1/2 cup Kosher Salt
1 cup small diced carrots
1 cup tiny cauliflower florets
2-3 jalapeños (use serranos for more heat) sliced
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 red bell pepper, diced small
1/2 green bell pepper, diced small
4-5 baby gherkins, diced
10 banana pepper rings, diced
3 cups canola oil
1 1/2 Tbs dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flake
1 teaspoon black pepper (to taste)
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| Finished Giardiniera in Mason jars! Don't they look tasty!? |
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