I was toodling around the house the other day, with the TV on in the background. A young lady said something about “okra giardiniera”. I instantly stopped what I was doing. I grabbed the Tivo remote and backed the show up a bit to see what exactly “okra giardiniera” was.
The show was Kimberly’s Simply Southern on the GAC network, and Miss Kimberly (from the country group Little Big Town) was making hot dogs topped with okra giardiniera. I made it too. I had to. Because it has okra in it.
Your Patience Will Be Rewarded
It takes 2 days to make the mix, so don’t get in too big of a big rush. But it is so worth the time. The end result is lightly pickled (not too strong on the vinegar), with a little oil (almost like an olive salad), and a lot crunchy. And don’t fear the okra slime… you can rinse almost all of it away after the first day. Personally, I’ll eat okra any time, any way, full slime or not (see my Southern fried okra and my okra and tomatoes).
Oh, and I went with bigger cuts on the veggies just to get more crunch. That’s just me, you can make them as big or as small as you want.
Next up, I’m going to top a muffuletta sandwich with this giardiniera. I know it’ll be outstanding!
Okra Giardiniera
Equipment
Ingredients
- ¼ cup kosher salt
- 1 cup okra sliced. frozen okra, thawed, works just fine
- 1 cup carrots diced
- 3-6 jalapeños seeded (if desired), diced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 stalk celery diced
- 1 red bell pepper seeded, diced
- 1 cup white vinegar
- 1 cup canola oil
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
Instructions
Day 1
- Place the salt, okra, carrots, jalapeños, garlic, celery and red bell peppers into a resealable container. Add enough cold water to just cover the vegetables. Seal and place in the fridge overnight.
Day 2
- Pour the mixture into a caldron and rinse well. You can mix the vegetables a bit to get them really rinsed well (read: remove any okra slime), but don’t be too aggressive or all of the tasty okra seeds will fly out.
- Return vegetables to the resealable container.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the vinegar, oil, oregano, and pepper. Pour over the vegetables and stir gently to combine. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
- The giardiniera is ready to use the next stay. It will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
Nutrition
Nutritional values are approximate.