Wash and clean the vegetables (eliminate the toughest cauliflower leaves and the ribs of the Tuscan kale, if you like you can use the upper – tenderest – part of the broccoli stems by “peeling” and then slicing them). Cut everything into large pieces and cook them for a few minutes in plenty of boiling, slightly salted water. Put one type of vegetable at a time into the saucepan, in order to be able to adapt the cooking time to the individual characteristics and consistency. When they’re “al dente” (= firm to the bite), strain and keep them separate. Put a few peppercorns in each jar and then distribute the vegetable among them, alternating types and colours. Don’t fill the jars too much, because the brine will have to cover everything completely.

Now prepare the brine: in a saucepan, mix 1 litre of water, with 700 ml of Balsamico Bianco, 50 g of sugar and the salt; bring to the boil and keep boiling for 5 minutes. Let the brine cool down and, when it’s lukewarm, pour it into the jars so that the vegetables acquire even more flavour. Make sure the contents are completely covered, put (new!) lids on the jars and close them tightly, then put them in a deep saucepan and fill it with water until they’re covered by 4-5 cm. Bring to the boil and then – over a moderate heat – simmer for at least 15-20 minutes. Turn the heat off and leave to cool; the jars should only be removed when the water is completely cold. In this way your Giardiniera can be kept for a long time, if possible in the dark, in a cool, dry place.