My love for Portillo’s Italian beef sandwiches dates back to my childhood, visiting family north of Chicago. I make a similar shredded beef sandwich in the crockpot at least a couple times a month now, and it’s a huge hit for the whole family! My homemade version hasn’t always included giardiniera, though, in part because every easily accessible version contains a ton of soybean oil, something I generally try to minimize. One thing is for sure though: the texture of Italian beef sandwiches will never be the same without giardiniera. I was excited to get to work on my own fermented giardiniera recipe, so we can get back to regularly including this phenomenal condiment on our sandwiches!
Why Ferment My Giardiniera?
Lacto-fermentation is an ancient method of preserving food. The fermentation process also can make foods more digestible & more nutrient-rich, and lacto-fermented foods are rich in prebiotics & probiotics. The lactic acid bacteria that grow when we ferment foods are great at improving gut health (source below). If you already use a probiotic supplement, consider including fermented foods: they typically include even more strains of beneficial bacteria.
For more on the health benefits of fermented foods, check out this article & this one.
Typically, Italian giardiniera is pickled, not fermented. I find that fermented vegetables usually offer a more tangy, nuanced flavor than pickled ones, which have that distinct vinegar taste. They’re both really good, and you can’t go wrong either way!
If you like traditional Chicago style giardiniera (with oil), see my note below! You can still eat it this way, it just won’t be packed and stored in the oil.
Tools & Equipment for Fermented Giardiniera
- Jars: wide mouth jars often work best for fermentation, I like a quart jar
- Cutting board
- Knife
- Large liquid measuring cup
- Measuring spoons
- Kitchen scale
Ingredients for Fermented Giardiniera
Adjust any of the amounts or the ratios of the vegetables to your liking! This giardiniera mixture can be totally personalized to your preferences, and to the size of your fermentation vessel. The amounts below should yield roughly one quart.
- Cauliflower: about half a head, broken up into smaller florets
- Red bell peppers (or swap out for yellow or orange, but red gives a nice color variety): 2 bell peppers
- Carrots: 2 medium or 1 large carrot
- Pearl onions, or thinly sliced yellow onion: half a yellow onion or about 15-20 pearl onions
- Jalapeno peppers or other mild or hot peppers: adjust the number of peppers to adjust your heat level! I used half a medium jalapeno, and it made a fairly mild giardiniera.
- Whole peppercorns: 1 Tbsp black peppercorns
- Garlic cloves: 4-6 whole cloves. I recommend chopping these up before eating them, even after fermenting
- Bay leaves: 1-2 bay leaves
- 1.5 Tbsp kosher salt or fine sea salt (for the best result, skip the iodized table salt)
- 4 cups water: I recommend filtered, non-chlorinated water
- Optional additional seasonings: you can experiment with adding other spices, such as mustard seeds, fennel seeds, or celery seeds.
The Process: How to Make Fermented Giardiniera
Prep
Wash and chop your vegetables, and peel your garlic cloves. You can cut your veggies to the size you prefer: A chunky style or a more minced style with smaller pieces will each work well. Set your vegetables aside for the time being.
Sterilize your jars. I do this by placing them in a clean sink and pouring a large volume of boiling water over them. Alternatively, fill the sink with boiling water and submerge the jars with tongs. Either way, use the tongs to remove the sterilized jars to a clean towel or paper towel on the counter, and let them cool until you can easily handle them with your hands.
Make your salt water brine solution by whisking your salt briskly into your water until fully dissolved. 1.5 Tbsp of salt in 4 cups of water will leave you with about a 3% brine solution.
Ferment
Layer your mix of vegetables into your jar however you like. Include your garlic cloves, peppercorns, and bay leaf. Gently press your vegetables down so that there are a couple of inches of headspace (at least one) between the top of the veggies and the top of the jar.
Pour your salt brine over the vegetables, making sure they are all fully submerged. I generally tap my jar on the counter a couple times to release air bubbles, and use a fork to gently press the veggies down. If you have fermentation weights, those can help.
Cover your jar with an air lock if you have it, or you can tightly cover with the jar lid, or you can loosely cover with cheesecloth or coffee filters. If you choose to loosely cover, make absolutely certain that all the veggies are submerged under the brine. If you choose the jar lid, you will want to burp the jar daily for the first few days to let out any excess carbon dioxide.
Place the jar on a plate or shallow bowl and leave on the counter at room temperature (preferably out of direct sunlight) to ferment. By the end of the first couple of days, maybe even sooner, you should see signs of fermentation. Little bubbles will begin to appear in the jar, and you’ll most likely smell a mild sour aroma (it should not smell strong or rotten).
I find that my giardiniera has been right at the sweet spot after about 5-7 days of fermentation, but this can vary. You can begin tasting after 3-4 days, or leave it for up to two weeks. The taste of the finished product will change with longer fermentation: because the lactic acid bacteria eat the sugars in the vegetables, it will continue to develop a more tart flavor with time.
When you’re satisfied with the flavor, tightly cover your jar of giardiniera and transfer it to the fridge.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Should I Serve and Store Fermented Giardiniera?
Store it tightly covered, in the fridge. Fermentation is an old-fashioned food preservation method, so in addition to making your food healthy and tasty, the growth of good bacteria will also help it last longer!
Serve this delicious condiment as part of a charcuterie board, loaded on an Italian beef sandwich (easily my favorite way) or use it to really level up a tuna salad.
If you prefer the Chicago-style giardiniera that you find in grocery stores, which includes a lot of oil, I recommend stirring a little olive oil into your giardiniera right before serving it.
Fermented Giardiniera
Ingredients
- 1/2 large head of cauliflower broken into smaller florets
- 2 red bell peppers
- 2 medium or 1 large carrot
- 15-20 pearl onions or half a medium yellow onion thinly sliced
- 1/2 medium jalapeno pepper: and add more hot or mild peppers as desired!
- 1 Tbsp whole black peppercorns
- 4-6 whole garlic cloves
- 1.5 Tbsp fine sea salt or kosher salt
- 4 cups filtered water
- 1-2 bay leaves
Instructions
- Wash and chop your vegetables, and peel your garlic cloves. You can cut your veggies to the size you prefer: A chunky style or a more minced style with smaller pieces will each work well. Set your vegetables aside for the time being.
- Sterilize your jars. I do this by placing them in a clean sink and pouring a large volume of boiling water over them. Alternatively, fill the sink with boiling water and submerge the jars with tongs. Either way, use the tongs to remove the sterilized jars to a clean towel or paper towel on the counter, and let them cool until you can easily handle them with your hands.
- Make your salt water brine solution by whisking your salt briskly into your water until fully dissolved. 1.5 Tbsp of salt in 4 cups of water will leave you with about a 3% brine solution.
- Layer your mix of vegetables into your jar however you like. Include your garlic cloves, peppercorns, and bay leaf. Gently press your vegetables down so that there are a couple of inches of headspace (at least one) between the top of the veggies and the top of the jar.
- Pour your salt brine over the vegetables, making sure they are all fully submerged. I generally tap my jar on the counter a couple times to release air bubbles, and use a fork to gently press the veggies down. If you have fermentation weights, those can help.
- Cover your jar with an air lock if you have it, or you can tightly cover with the jar lid, or you can loosely cover with cheesecloth or coffee filters. If you choose to loosely cover, make absolutely certain that all the veggies are submerged under the brine. If you choose the jar lid, you will want to burp the jar daily for the first few days to let out any excess carbon dioxide.
- Place the jar on a plate or shallow bowl and leave on the counter at room temperature (preferably out of direct sunlight) to ferment. By the end of the first couple of days, maybe even sooner, you should see signs of fermentation. Little bubbles will begin to appear in the jar, and you'll most likely smell a mild sour aroma (it should not smell strong or rotten). I find that my giardiniera has been right at the sweet spot after about 5-7 days of fermentation, but this can vary. You can begin tasting after 3-4 days, or leave it for up to two weeks. The taste of the finished product will change with longer fermentation: because the lactic acid bacteria eat the sugars in the vegetables, it will continue to develop a more tart flavor with time.
- When you're satisfied with the flavor, tightly cover your jar of giardiniera and transfer it to the fridge.
Notes
Pin for Later:
What Should I Make Next?
To continue fermenting with the same salt brining technique, check out Lacto-Fermented Veggies.
Did you make this recipe? Let me know how it went in the comments! If you share on Instagram, please tag me at @sisuhomemaker. And I always love to hear from you- send questions, comments, concerns, etc to carol@sisuhomemaker.com!
Leave a Reply