A vegan Christmas stocking filler: Meera Sodha’s recipe for giardiniera, or Italian pickles

From theguardian.com

A pleasingly rustic, Sicilian-style recipe for mixed veg fridge pickles 

f you have an image in your head of what a typical sweet Sicilian nonna looks like, Giusy is it. I met her at her agriturismo in San Lorenzo, where my family and I stayed last summer, and where, in a floral apron and with cigarette in hand, she presides over everything from the tiny kittens outside the house to an entire family that mans the farm and bookings. When she wasn’t spreading her unique blend of love and instructions, she was in the kitchen making the most of the farm’s bounty, including these exceptional go-with-everything sweet-and-sour pickles.

Giusy’s giardiniera

This is a simple fridge pickle that doesn’t require sterilising and bottling. You’ll just need a sieve or colander that fits inside a large saucepan for which you have a lid, to use as a makeshift steamer. You’ll also need 1½kg of prepared vegetables – I used 300g of each of those listed below, but you could mix things up: broccoli, celery, romesco cauliflower and aubergine would also work well here.

Prep 15 min
Cook 30 min, plus cooling
Makes 4 x 500ml jars or 6 x 350ml jars

For the brine
500ml white-wine vinegar
300g caster sugar
100g fine sea salt

For the vegetables
1½kg net weight of mixed vegetables – I used 2 red onions (300g), peeled and cut into ½cm slices; 1 red and 1 yellow pepper (300g), cut into ½cm slices; 1 fennel bulb (300g), trimmed, cored and cut into ½cm slices; ½ small cauliflower (300g), broken into florets 1½cm at their widest point; 3 medium carrots (300g), halved lengthways and cut into ½cm strips

Make sure your jars are squeaky clean: you can do this by putting them through your hottest dishwasher cycle or wash them in hot, soapy water then rinse off all the suds. Either way, leave them to air dry and cool.

To make the brine, put the vinegar, sugar and salt in a saucepan, stir in 500ml cold water and bring to a brief boil. Take off the heat and set aside to cool.

Fill a large saucepan with 5cm water and bring it to a boil. Working in batches, line the sides of a colander with the mixed vegetables in a single layer, place the colander snugly inside the pan and cover with the lid. Steam for six to eight minutes, until the vegetables are softened slightly, but still crunchy; keep an eye on the water level in the steamer, and top up if necessary. Tip the steamed vegetables on to a large baking sheet in a single layer, repeat with the remaining vegetables (you may need a second baking sheet), then leave to cool.

When both the brine and vegetables are cooled, fill the jars with the vegetables (you’ll need about 200g for each 350g jar and 300g for each 500ml jar), then pour the brine on top. Make sure the vegetables are submerged, then screw on the lids and pop in the fridge, where the pickles will keep for up to two weeks.

Photograph: Robert Billington/The Guardian. Food styling: Kitty Coles. Prop styling: Anna Wilkins. Food styling assistant: Lucy Cottle

https://www.theguardian.com/food/2023/dec/09/vegan-giardiniera-italian-pickles-recipe-meera-sodha