Homemade Giardiniera

As I mentioned last week, we are crazy for Jeff Mauro lately. We saw this recipe for giardiniera on his show last year and we finally got around to making it. For whatever reason I thought it was going to be super  hard to make. Not at all! You don’t even have to cook anything! If you cannot get giardiniera in your grocery store you can now make it all on your own.

Some of you ladies might like giardiniera but to me it is “man food.” I don’t eat it. Kelly doesn’t eat. My Mom doesn’t eat it. But Cliff, my Dad, my Uncles? They all go crazy for it. Your husband probably will too. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. Cliff puts giardiniera on nearly everything. Sandwiches, soups, pizza, pasta, steak. Even Chinese food. I always make sure that there is hot giardiniera in our fridge and an extra in the pantry. God forbid we run out of the stuff. Cliff likes his giardinera spicy but my Dad can’t handle the spice! They both enjoyed this version though. I just told my Dad to avoid the seeds. It really wasn’t that spicy though! They both really liked the homemade version though. It was much fresher tasting and it just looked better and more colorful than the jarred stuff we buy. I don’t know if I will always keep it on hand but I will definitely be making it more often.

Here is what you’ll need

Chop all the vegetables into tiny, bite sized pieces

Dissolve the salt in the water

Pour the salt water over the vegetables

24 hours later drain and rinse the vegetables

Add vegetables, oil, pepper, and oregano to a bowl and refrigerate

Transfer to mason jars and serve with anything and everything!