Spice Up Your Salad Greens With Some Briny Giardiniera

Despite all the different choices in the salad greens section of the grocery store, a lot of us still make the same old bowl over and over again. Salad doesn't have to be an afterthought, however. Sometimes all it takes is a new, zesty dressing to perk up your pile of iceberg. Before you plunk down money on the latest and greatest store-bought dressing, try shopping in your own refrigeraor or pantry for dressing ingredients. All you need to make a basic vinaigrette is acid and oil, both of which happen to be already available in a jar of giardiniera.

Giardiniera is a mixture of vegetables and peppers that are first pickled in brine and then packed in olive oil. You'll sometimes see it served on Italian-style sandwiches or piled on an antipasto platter. No law says you have to eat giardiniera whole, however. In fact, if you puree a bit of those pickled vegetables with some of the brine and a few extra ingredients from your fridge, you have the base for a very interesting salad dressing.

Most giardiniera is a mixture of pickled vegetables like cauliflower, celery, carrots, bell peppers, and sometimes hot chilis. The veggies are first pickled in brine, then strained and jarred with olive oil. If you're in your local grocery store, look for it alongside the other pickles and olives. If you can't find it there, you might have more luck in the specialty food section by the imported Italian items. If all else fails, check your store's olive bar. Ultimately, if you see cauliflower and carrots inside the jar, that's probably the giardiniera.

To make a dressing out of your pickled veggies, all you need to do is blend up a cup or so (depending on how much dressing you need) with a few tablespoons of spicy brown mustard or Dijon mustard. Don't forget to include some of the brine! You can add honey or brown sugar if it's too tart or salty, and if your giardiniera doesn't have any hot peppers you can spice it up with a squeeze of Sriracha, chili flakes, or even spicy kimchi. Let the blender run until the dressing is mostly smooth. Add olive oil to thin it out if the mixture is too thick.

It might first seem a little weird to make a salad dressing out of pureed vegetables, but think of it as a different kind of green goddess dressing, which is made with an abundance of fresh herbs. In fact, if you like your dressings creamy, add a few tablespoons of mayonnaise, sour cream, or whole milk Greek yogurt to your giardiniera dressing. Just be sure to taste it before serving to decide if it needs more brine for flavor.

For dressing up a fresh salad, use only one or two tablespoons for every four cups of greens. Don't be afraid to try your new dressing out in all kinds of other salads, too. Try tossing it with pasta and more (unblended) giardiniera for a super easy Mediterranean-inspired pasta salad. Its bold flavor will also be delicious in mayonnaise-based salads like potato, egg, tuna, and chicken salad. You can even mix a few tablespoons into canned soup to jazz up the flavor.

So, the next time you're at the olive bar or browsing in the Italian section of the grocery store, snag some giardiniera. With just a little blending, you can easily have a zesty, original dressing that will liven up any kind of salad.