Add This Sandwich Ingredient To Pasta Salad For 20x The Flavor

Warm weather equals salad weather in our book, but making a bowl of what is essentially green leaves seem interesting can descend into boring territory. For something different, pasta salad is one of our go-tos, and while it offers lots of different noodle shapes, eventually even it gets a bit "ho-hum" in the flavor stakes. Enter giardiniera. This pickled veggie combo is commonly paired with hot beef sandos, but can easily bring all its signature crunch, brightness, and zing to a bowl of pasta salad. The question is, do you go for old-school Italian giardiniera or the Chicago-style version of this condiment?

Traditional giardiniera is made using big chunks of veggies, including carrots, cauliflower, bell peppers, and celery, all of which have been steeped in seasoned vinegar and popped in a jar. The American version features the same basic ingredients but has an extra hint of warmth, thanks to the inclusion of peppers such as banana or serrano varieties. It's also more finely chopped, so it looks more like a sauce than whole veggies. Chicago hot giardiniera is for those who really love their spice, as it often contains red chili, habaneros, and jalapeño peppers. It's not just delicious on your cookout pasta salad; it's a great way to upgrade a boring hot dog, too.

Italian home cooks have been making giardiniera forever, because pickling was the best way to preserve vegetables before fridges were a thing. (For what it's worth, we don't recommend you rely on a vintage appliance to keep yours cool.) The name comes from the Italian word "giardino" for garden and roughly translates to "gardeners' mix," telling anyone who gobbled up the delicious antipasto exactly what it they were eating. 

Italian immigrants brought giardiniera to the United States, where it took on a whole new life. The smoother, spicier Chicago giardiniera soon emerged, and oil was added to the vinegar to give even more complexity. You can buy jars of giardiniera in supermarkets or specialty Italian stores, or you can make your own with fresh or frozen vegetables (make sure they're pre-blanched) or even veggies you've grown yourself.

The world's your flavor oyster when it comes to homemade giardiniera. You can stick to the core vegetables of the Italian and Chicago versions, but why not mix it up? Some people throw in olives, green beans, and pearl onions, for instance. The choice of pepper is up to you — it might be worth rustling up separate milder and hotter batches to please everyone at the table — as is the choice of brine. Straight vinegar or an oil-vinegar blend are both popular, but sugar, chili flakes, and mustard seeds can help round out that flavor. Whichever type of giardiniera you go for, your pasta salad will never taste "ho-hum" again.