Giardiniera Meats Cheese Olives Breadsticks And Smoked Almonds For Antipasto Recipes

ITALIAN GIARDINIERA RECIPE

Steps:

• Chop the vegetables, then rinse and drain.
• In a large pot add the water, vinegar, bay leaf and salt. Add the carrots, green beans and celery for 2 minutes then add the cauliflower, peppers and onion and cook for another three minutes. (5 minutes total)
• With a slotted spoon move the vegetables to a clean bowl, then divide evenly into the sterilized jars. Be sure to press down on the veggies to remove some extra space. Top with the boiled vegetable liquid or oil*, depending on your preference. Tightly close the jars with the sterilized lids.
• Place the jars in a large pot, wrap a clean tea towel around the jars so that they don't knock against each other and break while boiling. Add enough water to cover the jars and bring to a boil, continue to boil for about 20 minutes. Remove from heat, and leave the jars to cool in the pot. Place the cooled jars in a cool dry area and leave for at least a month before serving. Enjoy!

HOT ITALIAN GIARDINIERA

Steps:

• Place into a bowl the green and red peppers, jalapenos, celery, carrots, onion, and cauliflower. Stir in salt, and fill with enough cold water to cover. Place plastic wrap or aluminum foil over the bowl, and refrigerate overnight.
• The next day, drain salty water, and rinse vegetables. In a bowl, mix together garlic, oregano, red pepper flakes, black pepper, and olives. Pour in vinegar and olive oil, and mix well. Combine with vegetable mixture, cover, and refrigerate for 2 days before using.

GIARDINIERA

Steps:

• In a large stockpot, combine vinegar, sugar, water, canning salt, oregano and fennel seed. Bring to a boil. Add cauliflower, carrots, celery and onions; return to a boil. Remove from heat; add peppers., Carefully ladle hot mixture into 10 hot 1-pint jars, leaving 1/2- in. headspace. Add a bay leaf and 2 peppercorns to each jar; divide garlic slices among jars. Remove air bubbles and adjust headspace, if necessary, by adding more hot mixture. Wipe rims. Center lids on jars; screw on bands until fingertip tight. , Place jars into canner with simmering water, ensuring that they are completely covered with water. Bring to a boil; process for 10 minutes. Remove jars and cool.

OLIVE --SAUTEED ALMONDS

Steps:

• Blanch the almonds 1 1/2 minutes in boiling water; drain. Plunge into cold water, then slip off the skins. Spread the almonds out on several thicknesses of paper toweling and pat dry. Transfer to fresh paper toweling and let dry 24 hours. Heat the oil in a 10-inch iron skillet over moderate heat about 2 minutes or until an almond, dropped into the oil, sizzles gently. Add half of the almonds to the oil and saute, stirring often, 4 to 5 minutes over moderately low heat until the color of light caramel. Dump the almonds into a colander set over a heatproof bowl; shake to drain off as much oil as possible, then drain on paper toweling. Return the oil to the skillet and fry and drain the remaining almonds the same way. Sprinkle with salt and cayenne and toss well; store in an airtight canister. Note: the sauteeing oil can be used to dress vegetables or salads.