Giardiniera Vegetables

Giardiniera Vegetables

Ingredients:
2 carrots, thickly sliced
1/2 head cauliflower, broken into florets
2 broccoli crowns, broken into florets
1/4 pound mixed brine-cured olives
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

Directions:
Salt to taste
1/2 cup olive oil
1. Place a steamer basket in the slow cooker, and layer the vegetables with the carrots
on the bottom, then the cauliflower and broccoli. Add 1/2 cup water to the slow
cooker, and cook vegetables on Low for 3 to 5 hours or on High for 11/2 to 2 hours, or
until vegetables are crisp-tender. Plunge vegetables into a bowl of ice water to stop
the cooking action and set the color. Then drain, and place them in a mixing bowl with
olives.
2. Combine lemon juice, oregano, red pepper flakes, and salt in a jar with a tight-
fitting lid, and shake well. Add olive oil, and shake well again.
3. Toss dressing with vegetables, and allow mixture to sit for 15 minutes before
serving, tossing vegetables occasionally. Serve at room temperature.
Note: The vegetables and dressing can both be prepared up to 2 days in advance and
refrigerated, tightly covered. Allow both to reach room temperature before tossing and
serving.
Variations:
Add 3 to 4 sun-dried tomatoes packed in olive oil, finely chopped, to the dressing.
Substitute baby artichokes, halved and rubbed with lemon juice to prevent
discoloration, for the broccoli.
Steaming preserves more of the vegetables’ natural nutrients than boiling. The vitamins and minerals
are leached out into the hot water when you throw your veggies into boiling water.
S
oups are very popular as primi, or first course, in all Italian regions, and they are
natural dishes to cook in the slow cooker because the best soups are those that are
slowly simmered over hours to blend the flavors and showcase the various
ingredients. And that’s what the slow cooker does best.
You’ll find a range of small soups in this chapter. Most of them feature some sort of
meat, especially sausage and other cured pork products such as pancetta and
prosciutto as accent flavors. However, these can be transformed into vegetarian soups
by omitting the meat and substituting vegetable stock for the chicken stock specified.
There are also a number of fish and seafood stews in Chapter 5 that can be served as
primi in smaller portions, and all appropriate recipes have been annotated with the
number of servings.
At the end of this chapter are a few other small dishes, including some wonderful