Tomato pickled cauliflower giardiniera is a delicious quick meal idea. Crunchy bits of cauliflower in a delicious tomato base with a sweet and sour flavour. This dish is inspired by Italian vegetable preserve giardiniera, but in a simplified version and with a lower yield.

You can eat this sweet and sour cauliflower in tomato sauce as soon as it cools down, or you can preserve it in jars for future enjoyment. Yes, this is a dish that is best enjoyed cold, or at room temperature. No heating required.

When I was growing up, my mother used to make giardiniera at least once a year. It is a very clever way to preserve vegetables when they’re in season and enjoy them later as a quick dinner or side dish. The base is a slightly sweet and sour tomato sauce where diced vegetables are added little by little as the sauce cooks. But here, we’re only using one (the spring onion is a bonus for flavour).

The ingredients

When I asked my mom for her giardiniera recipe I was a bit overwhelmed as hers had a huge yield as she was using 2,5 Kg of mixed veggies to put away for the winter. So I scaled it down to a lower yield, using only one cauliflower head.

The spices here are ground nutmeg and whole cloves. You can sub whole for a pinch of ground. If using whole like I do, remember to pick them out before eating! I use canned chopped tomatoes, despite the original recipe calling for fresh. Canned are very much fine, especially if making this recipe out of season for good tomatoes.

For exact quantities, please refer to the recipe card at the bottom of this post. Here’s a step by step explanation on how to make cauliflower giardiniera.

How to make tomato pickled cauliflower

First off, clean and cut the veggies, so they are ready to go into the sauce when it’s time. Cut the cauliflower into small florets and chop the spring onion. Separate the lighter root ends from the darker leafy parts, as those will be added at two different points.

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To make the sauce, pour the oil into a pot and heat it on medium heat. Then proceed to add the chopped tomatoes, salt, sugar, nutmeg and cloves. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and add in the wine and the root ends of the spring onion.

Simmer for 10 minutes, then stir in the cauliflower florets and leafy ends of the spring onion. Lower the heat to only keep a gentle simmer, cover the pot and cook for 10 minutes. This is all it takes for the cauliflower to keep a lovely crunchy texture. Do not overcook it.

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Remove from the heat and divide into jars, or let cool and enjoy. Store in the fridge and consume within one week. In order to preserve for a longer time, jars need to be sterilized, then you can store them at room temperature. An alternative to canning is to freeze: this tomato cauliflower freezes very well.

How to serve tomato pickled cauliflower

The most classic way to serve giardiniera – hence also this cauliflower giardiniera – is as a salad. My personal favourite way is with tuna: mix in a jar of tuna for the ultimate summer dish. My choice of tuna is Italian canned tuna in olive oil, of course I drain the oil before adding it to my cauliflower.

This is also a great veggie side dish that can accompany other delicacies such as:

• Tuna zucchini boats
• Chicken meatloaf
• Baked trout with lavender
• Red cabbage empanadas
• Prosciutto chicken involtini

Italian giardiniera, simplified

When making giardiniera, you start by cooking the tomato base, and then you add the vegetables. You need to follow a specific order and first start with the veggies that will require longer cooking time. You will then add a different vegetable every 5 minutes, ending with those that need the shortest cooking time.

My mom’s giardiniera included a wide array of veggies: carrots, pearl onions, celery, green beans, zucchini, cauliflower and bell peppers. Although I would always happily eat the whole thing, cauliflower has always been my favourite and I would try to pick as many florets when serving myself. So one day it dawned on me: why not make a simplified giardiniera with only cauliflower?

Cauliflower is one of the last veggies you add to the pot in giardiniera, so one that requires the bare minimum cooking time, really. This means that you can have your tomato pickled cauliflower ready to eat in less than one hour. Also, only working with one can of tomatoes, one cauliflower head and a bunch of spring onion, even the prepping is short and effortless.

If the thought of making vegetable preserves (like giardiniera) is a bit daunting, this cauliflower in tomato sauce could be a great starting point. This easy recipe requires a fraction of the time that classic giardiniera calls for, and also much smaller amounts of veggies to process.

Pin this recipe for later, and good luck! Hope you’ll love this dish as much as I do! Let me know in the comments and please consider following me on Instagram and on Pinterest. Thank you!

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