Ugly Giardiniera.
David Chang’s Ugly Delicious series on Netflix was about foods from a variety of cultures that are enjoyed for taste, not looks…. a poke in the eye to the Instagram crowd. We will put our current giardiniera explorations in that category.
Giardiniera is the Italian version of the pickle plate, except that the ingredients all share the same brine. In Italian shop windows you can see beautiful jars of perfectly arranged ingredients gleaming like gems in the sun. One suspects a jig of some kind, like a cylinder slightly smaller than the diameter of the jar, is used to position the veggies along the inside surface; the center is then filled with ingredients, the jig is removed, and walla. We’ve seen similar beautiful products on display at the Fancy Food Show in the US.
At Burnt My Fingers we are having none of this. Our first principle of giardiniera is that the ingredients will get happy time together in a community bath before they ever see a jar. Instead of pouring brine over already positioned raw veggies we will let them wallow in that brine and pick up its flavors. Then we will drain them, transfer to one of those giant kimchi jars that exists in every Korean or kimchi-loving household, and pour the warmed brine on top.
We do have a recipe, which we will share in our next post. We were going to do our usual testing and report on the results but we hit it on the first try, no need to test. Used white vinegar which is dirt cheap instead of the frou-frou wine vinegar which is called for in most recipes; it’s fine but not worth the extra cost. And we hit on an ideal ratio of 1:1 vinegar and water for the brine with 2 T sugar and 2 T Kosher salt added to 6 c brine so there was no need to investigate further. Finally, no canning in a water bath: this goodness is going directly into the refrigerator because why can’t something that should be enjoyed right away?
Not pretty, but delicious.
Sounds like a great idea for casual eating. Who cares what it looks like when it tastes great.
Channeling Dave Chang.
Since you posted this I’ve gone on a refrigerator pickling binge, building up some picnic stock. I’ve also discovered strawberries pickled with balsamic vinegar- tasty & a great way to use berries that lack sweetness.
Brilliant idea! Fresh picked ripe local strawberries are too delicious to do anything with except eat on the spot, but this would be perfect for bargain supermarket berries as well as locals that didn’t fully ripen for whatever reason.