Pickled vegetables refreshing

Sometimes it feels like the holidays are all about the sweet food that can leave you feeling sluggish and overstuffed. This recipe of pickled vegetables is perfect to help cut through all the sugar and butter that is consumed over Thanksgiving through to the New Year. These can be added to any vegetable tray, a  charcuterie board, or eaten any other time you want a light snack before dinner. These can be made any day and will be good throughout the whole month. 

GIARDINIERA (PICKLED VEGETABLES) 

YIELD: 8 servings 

INGREDIENTS 

Pickling Liquid 

5 fl oz vinegar, white distilled 

5 fl oz water 

1 oz sugar 

1/8 t mustard seeds 

A pinch of crushed red pepper flakes 

Vegetables 

7 oz cauliflower, cut into 2-inch florets 

1 carrot, peeled and cut into biased rounds 

¼ red bell pepper, sliced 

¼ yellow bell pepper, sliced 

2 oz celery, sliced into 1-inch biased 

1 oz green olives 

INSTRUCTIONS 

1 Combine pickling liquid ingredients and bring to simmer until sugar and salt have dissolved. Cool completely. 

2 For vegetables, bring a pot of water to boil. Blanch cauliflower and carrots in boiling water for 4-5 minutes, then remove and set in ice water to stop cooking. Drain ice water once vegetables are cold. 

3 Arrange all vegetables in a glass jar decoratively. Cover with the cold pickling liquid and cover with jar lid. Chill for 18-24 hours. Can be kept for several weeks.

Michaella Evert is an Instructional Assistant at FVCC’s Culinary Institute of Montana.