Fermented Giardiniera with Cauliflower, Shallots and Peppers
Giardiniera is a mix of pickled vegetables in vinegar or oil in Italy, but here we used wild fermentation to create a delicious fermented Giardiniera recipe. In Italian, it is pronounced jar-din-AIR-ah, meaning “from the garden.”
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Fermentation Time: 4 weeks
- Total Time: 672 hours 30 minutes
- Yield: 10 servings
- Category: Fermented Vegetables
- Method: Fermentation
- Cuisine: Italian
- Diet: Vegan
Ingredients
- 120 grams cauliflower
- 100 grams cucumber
- 100 grams bell pepper
- 50 grams jalapeño
- 30 grams shallots
- 50 grams carrots
- 500 grams water
- 28 grams salt
- 2 bay leaves
Instructions
- Lightly rinse all your vegetables in cool water and chop them to your desired consistency. I sliced the bell peppers in thin strips, broke apart the cauliflower, sliced the jalapeno in half, and sliced the cucumber, carrots, and shallots.
- Make sure all of your fermentation equipment has been cleaned and sanitized well.
- Dissolve the sea salt in the water to create a brine.
- In a clean mason jar add all of the vegetables and the bay leaves.
- Add all of the saltwater brine to the jar.
- Place a fermentation weight in the jar to keep all of the vegetables submerged. Place the mason jar lid on the jar and secure it in place.
- Ferment for 4 weeks at room temperature. About 2 to 3 days into fermentation, you will notice a lot of bubbles. Set the jar in a glass dish to prevent messes. Every 24 hours loosen the lid to burp the jar and let the gas out. This particular fermentation can get very bubbly. You can rinse the lid daily before replacing it to keep it clean.
- After 4 weeks of fermentation, remove the fermentation weight and check to make sure the pH is around 3.8
- Then move to refrigerated storage.
Notes
- this recipe is sized to fit a 1-quart mason jar
- You can use any ratios of vegetables you want, as long as the total weight of vegetables combined is 450 grams.
- fermented vegetables should keep for about 2 years in the fridge
