Giardiniera: Spice Up Your Meals
If you’re looking for a tasty, inexpensive way to liven up meal time, add a few fork-fulls of hot or mild giardiniera to your plate. This delicious, Italian-style condiment has been around for centuries, but it is just now beginning to get the acclaim it deserves.
What Is Giardiniera?
The word “giardiniera” means from the garden in Italian. It’s a mixture of either hot or mild peppers and all sorts of vegetables, the most common being carrots, celery, and green olives.
Recipes for giardiniera differ, but for the most part it is mixed with a spice bath of oregano, basil, and celery salt, among others. Then, it is packed in a jar with shelf-stable oil added, typically vegetable oil. You do not need to refrigerate giardiniera. It will remain fresh in the jar for up to a year.
Spring Giardiniera
Uses For Giardiniera
How much time do we have?
Seriously though, uses for giardiniera are only limited by your culinary creativity. Most times, it is used as an addition to pasta dishes, added either after the pasta is prepared or it’s baked in.
It is also a commonly seen garnish on Italian sandwiches. Italian beef, meatball, and sub sandwiches all benefit from a dose of giardiniera.
You can also use it on pizza, either by adding it to a slice or sprinkling it over a frozen pizza before placing it in the oven. The latter method is particularly tasty, as the mixture bakes right into the toppings and crust, giving the pizza a unique new taste dimension.
Another favorite dish for giardiniera is scrambled eggs, believe it or not. Add a fork-full while cooking the eggs to liven up any breakfast. You can also add it to omelets, as giardiniera is a perfect complement to a fluffy, 3-egg concoction.
There are several styles of giardiniera recipes, including mild, hot, and extra hot. Usually, the vegetables are cut into bite size pieces, but a relish style is also available. In this case, the vegetables are finely chopped, almost minced, which makes for a somewhat neater eating experience because the mixture is almost spreadable.
To learn more about the uses and styles of giardiniera, visit our new resource site at: http://www.squidoo.com/italiangiardiniera
A great giardiniera recipe is worth its weight in… Olive oil? For other great recipe ideas and tips for living the slow-cookin’ lifestyle, visit our crock pots homepage and see what all the hullabaloo is about…
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