giardiniera

Ingredients

Vegetables

• 4 large carrots
• 10 oz cauliflower
• 1 stalk celery
• 10 oz green beans
• 1/2 med red onion
• 1/2 med white onion

Spices

• 3 cloves garlic
• 2 tbsp black peppercorns
• 1 tbsp mustard seeds
• 1/2 tbsp dried thyme
• 1/2 tbsp dried oregano
• 1/2 tbsp fennel seeds
• 1/2 tbsp red pepper flake
• 4-6 bay leaves

Brine

• 1/2 gal purified drinking water
• 4 tbsp pickling salt

Tools

• 2+ gallon fermenting container
• chef knife
• peeler
• cutting board
• 1 tbsp measuring spoon

Directions

1. Clean vegetables.
2. Dissolve salt in water.
3. Cut vegetables into bite sized pieces:
   • Carrots: Peel carrots and remove tops. Cut into 1/2”-3/4” medallions.
   • Cauliflower: Remove central stem. Cut heads into large, bite-sized pieces
   • Celery: Remove any leaves then cut into 3/4” pieces
   • Green beans: remove 1/4” from both ends. Cut larger ones in half so all pieces are roughly 2” -2 1/2”
   • Red and white onions: cut into roughly 1” - 1 1/2” squares.
4. Measure out spices into a bowl except bay leaves and garlic and mix lightly.
5. Lightly mash garlic so that it still remains whole but the peel starts to separate. Slice off 1/16” of base and remove peel.
6. Lay 2-3 bay leaves, 2 cloves garlic, and half of all measured spices into fermentation container.
7. Add half of prepared vegetables into fermentation chamber.
8. Mix the container’s contents with a clean hand, spreading the spice mixture around.
9. Sprinkle in remaining spices across the top of vegetables in container. Add remaining bay leaves and garlic.
10. Add remaining vegetables to container.
11. Mix all contents of the container by hand.
12. Place fermentation weights on vegetables. Press down firmly into place to help settle the vegetables.
13. Slowly pour in water until vegetables and fermentation weights are submerged.
14. Shake container lightly to remove any air pockets.
15. Close up fermentation container and set in an area where it will not be disturbed. Avoid any direct sunlight or areas that vary in temperature drastically.
16. Check every several days to make sure that all vegetables remain submerged. After 1-2 days, fermentation will become active.
17. Allow fermentation to proceed for 2 weeks. Remove any film or scum that appears on the surface.
18. When complete, ensure surface is clear of scum then package in glass jars.
19. Refrigerate and enjoy.

Notes

11Jan20

• Pickling salt is free free from anti-caking agents which causes sediment during a ferment.
• Morton kosher salt is usable in a ferment but creates an off-white sediment.
• Avoid Celtic Sea Salt; it produces cloudy brine from the start with a noticeable mineral sediment after all the salt has dissolved.

18Jan20

• After 1 full week fermenting, I pulled it. Cauliflower, carrots, green beans were nice and crunchy still. The asparagus and bell pepper turned into slush. Removing both from recipe for now.
• Next time: - 1/2 garlic - pull at 5 days
• brine cloudy- definitely need better salt.

23Mar20

• Less than half of the batch remains- carrots, celery, and beans all still crunchy.
• The onion is soft but not unpleasantly so.
• Celery is inoffensive to eat but contributes significantly to the flavor profile of the finished product.
• Any remaining bell pepper or asparagus is removed as giardiniera is pulled out. I need to focus on pickling both of those in isolation to see if I can get them to come out at least firm, if not crunchy.
• I have purchased pickling salt for my next round of pickling.