Italian Giardiniera, both condiment and antipasto, holds a cherished place in the traditions of the home kitchens of Italy and has also found a unique niche in Italian American cuisine. The bold and colorful mix of vegetables serves as a testament to Italy’s rich agricultural heritage, the ingenuity of its cooks, and the adaptability of its culinary practices across the globe. Giardiniera’s journey to America can be traced to the late 19th century with the wave of Italian immigration. Italian immigrants brought their culinary traditions, adapting them to the ingredients and tastes of their new home. No city in the United States has embraced giardiniera as fervently as Chicago. Chicago-style giardiniera is an entirely distinct American offspring characterized by coarsely sliced or minced, hot pickled peppers, celery, carrots, and cauliflower, sometimes with or without the addition of olives. The Chicago blend is typically doused in vinegar for several weeks, removed and then conserved in oil. More condiment than antipasto it adds an edible exclamation point to the“Italian Beef” sandwich subs, pizza, and even scrambled eggs. While a departure from its Italian roots, Chicago-style giardiniera has become an integral part of its culinary identity.
Giardiniera is derived from the Italian word for a female gardener, (une jardinière in French) and encapsulates the essence of the dish, a garden in a jar. Traditionally, it is said, that giardiniera is made at the end of summer when vegetables are at their peak ripeness. Yet, it would be a feat for any one garden to be timed to the events of the harvest of so many different vegetables at once; as much as giardiniera is a culmination of the garden, making the more involved versions also leans on the market.
The best versions of giardiniera mimic the texture of fresh vegetables having been briefly blanched or marinated each to its timing. Carrots, peppers sweet and hot, celery, artichoke buds, zucchini beans, and pearl onions all dance together. Some versions include olives, capers, and even tuna, a contentious point among purists. While these ingredients add distinctive and welcome flavors, some argue that olives, growing on trees, capers often foraged, and even tuna from the sea, do not belong in a dish celebrating the domestic garden. Giardiniera has no standard of identity, nor does it enjoy IGP status. The general class of “sott’aceti” (pickled vegetables) to which it belongs abound up and down the boot. Nevertheless, the Piedmont region claims a “classic” version and attaches the regional name "Giardiniera Piemontese" or "Antipasto Piemontese.” In local dialect, it is "cumposta” vegetables preserved in a piquant sweet/sour sauce (agrodolce) or simply in vinegar or a mixture of vinegar and oil. Differences manifest in terms of the size and cut of the vegetables, their combinations and seasonings, the process by which they are made, and their more or less acidic liquid suspension. To generalize further, giardiniera is available in two main preparations, rosso and bianco. The rosso variety contains vegetables in a slightly thickened tomato sauce acidified with vinegar, while the bianco variety is vegetables preserved in a clear brine of water, vinegar, and salt. This latter version is most commonly found in American supermarkets produced by the big Italian pickle companies and is to be avoided. It can be brashly acidic.
In my family, giardiniera is known as "antipasto” and was a staple in my mother’s culinary repertoire. I and some of my siblings and their children make it each year to uphold our tradition. It is the perfect, mouthwatering accompaniment to a platter of salumi. I happily eat it neat, straight from the jar. Our annual preparation of giardiniera not only preserves the best vegetables of the season but also serves as a family ritual, connecting us to our heritage and each other. As it has evolved from my mother’s version here is a foolproof formula, pleasingly crunchy and mildly tangy, her garden in a jar.
ANTIPASTO LUIGIA BERTOLLI
Makes about 20 pints
Combine 4 cups cider vinegar and 8 cups water; bring to a boil
Add the following vegetables to the vinegar-water bath and cook them separately, one after the other in batches. Remove them from the pot with a strainer and allow them to cool on a sheet pan.
245 grams (about 2 cups) peeled, carrot sliced 1/8” - Boil 3 mins
400 grams (about 4 cups) peeled celery, sliced 1/2” – Boil 3 mins
600 grams (1 small head), cauliflower, separated into small florets – Boil 4 mins
3 Red or mixed colored peppers, sliced into ¼ inch strips –Boil 3 mins
300 grams (about 2-1/2 cups) fresh yellow, red or white pearl onions, boiled briefly to remove skins, peeled – Boil 4 mins
175 grams (about 2 cups fresh Romano or string beans cut into 2-inch lengths – boil for 3 minutes
336 grams fresh artichoke buds, peeled to tender heart, quartered – boil 5 mins
225 grams (about 3 cups), sliced fresh wild or cultivated mushrooms (king oyster best, small button mushrooms, Pioppini, or a combination of mushrooms – boil 3 min
Drain and discard the liquid
Substitute other vegetables available in season keeping proportions the same.
1 liter (about 1 quart) tomato juice
1.5 liters (about 48 ounces) tomato sauce
.5 liters (about 2 cups fruity olive oil
Boil for 5 minutes
Add the pickled vegetables above along with the following:
Green pitted olives – as you wish
Tiny cornichons as you wish
Small jar non-pareil capers
6 tins tuna preserved in olive oil
Bring tomato bath and all vegetable additions to a boil. Cook for 4 minutes. Season with 1-1/2 teaspoon of salt. Pack hot immediately in sterilized Mason jars. Process for 10 minutes in a boiling water bath. Store at cool temperature. Keeps one year.