Ingredients for 6 jars containing 500 g each: 3 kg mixed vegetables (bell peppers, tomatoes, aubergines, onions…)2 glasses Balsamico Bianco2 tbsp sugar1 tbsp salt (plus enough for the brine)2 tbsp peppercorns6 sprigs of calamint
Wash and clean the vegetables. Cut them into pieces and blanch them for a few minutes in plenty of boiling, salted water. Strain them and put them in a large bowl. Grind 1 spoonful of the peppercorns over the vegetables and add the other spoonful whole; also add the calamint leaves, torn up with your fingers. Mix carefully and distribute everything among the jars, taking care to alternate vegetables of different colours, then cover them completely with the brine (in order to be able to do this, don’t over fill the jars with vegetables). To prepare the brine: for each kg of vegetables, dissolve 25-30 g of salt in 1 l of water, add the Balsamico Bianco and 2 spoonfuls of sugar (or 1 of honey and 1 of wildflower honey, if you prefer), and stir well. Heat the brine to help the salt and sugar (or honey) dissolve easily, and then pour it into the jars while still lukewarm; in this way the vegetables gain flavour.
To preserve the Giardiniera correctly: put it into sterilised glass jars, put the lids on tightly, arrange the jars in a saucepan, pour in enough cold water to cover them, bring to the boil and then leave to simmer for at least 20 minutes. Turn off the heat, leave to cool and only remove the jars when the water is cold.