Hey, Lenny Gale, Life is NOYOKE.
Few people in the history of man have ever uttered the words,
"Hey, I think we should make our own ketchup."
Why? Well, there's already a perfect version.
And I think the same thing goes for giardiniera.
The condiment that's beloved in Chicago.
So why are we making our own today?
Well, we like a version that has fresh cut vegetables, no added sugar, and
no added colors or preservatives.
[laughing]
Why else? Why else would we want to make our own.
And so, and so that's what we're making today.
Crunchy, spicy, irresistible giardiniera.
[music]
Aright, there are three steps to making this delicious giardiniera.
The prep. A lot of chopping.
The soak. A little bit of waiting.
And the cure. A little more waiting.
I assure you it's easy. It just takes a little bit of time.
Aright, here's what you're gonna need.
From the produce section, cauliflower, carrots, celery, some sweet peppers
and some hot peppers. These are serrano.
From the fridge, some olives with pimento, garlic. And from the pantry, olive oil,
white vinegar, crushed red pepper, dried oregano, and trusty salt and pepper.
Now you can buy Mike Ditka's giardiniera, but that's got nothing on this fresh,
delicious, homemade giardiniera that you're gonna put on all your food, all your grillables,
and share with your friends.
Let's make this thing.
Aright, start by chopping everything.
The cauliflower, the carrots, the celery, the sweet peppers, and the hot peppers.
Oh yeah, and the garlic.
We'll take all the vegetables, soak 'em in salt water, and throw 'em in the fridge.
Aright, giardiniera is in the fridge, going to
bed. We'll see you in the morning.
Aright, we're back, it's day two. The giardiniera has been soaking in salt
water overnight, and now we're ready to dress it up.
Aright, we'll whisk spices into the vinegar. And then, we'll whisk the oil into
the vinegar.
Whisk, whisk, whisk.
Aright, once we've drained the salt water from before, we can mix in
some olives and the dressing we just made.
And then, we'll load it up into jars!
Aright, we're gonna let the giardiniera cure for at least two days.
Really, the longer the better.
But I'll give you a little hint: I tried it. It was so crunchy, spicy, salty.
I know this giardiniera is going to be phenomenal when it's done curing.
I can't wait to try it.
Aright, quick note: Almost all the work to make homemade giardiniera is in the
chopping.
Chop the cauliflower. Chop the celery. Chop the carrots. Chop the peppers.
So much chopping!
But chopping can actually be a beautiful thing. Calming. It's meditative.
It's even a fun thing to do with someone else.
In fact, chopping these ingredients is one of
the things we did for our engagement photo shoot.
-You need to look at each other and smile and laugh.
-Okay. -Okay!
[laughing]
I know. How cute.
Now if I had to do it all over again, I'd probably use my Vitamix to chop the
vegetables. It would have taken ten percent of the time.
So why didn't I just use my Vitamix to chop the vegetables in this video?
Well, I mentioned the engagement photo shoot, but also, the fiancee
didn't want me to exclude non-Vitamix owners.
So we chopped by hand. Because of course, Wife is NOYOKE.
[music]
Aright, the giardiniera has cooked for two days and the reason this jar is half gone
is because I've been snacking on it all day. I've been eating it with a spoon.
But since this is a place to get inspired to
actually make some food and eat it, I'm going to put it on some real food.
This is a veggie dog, on an amazing onion bun with some brown mustard.
And I can't wait to take a bite. Here we go.
Yum!
Phenomenal. So, so good.