Recipe - Preserved Vegetables (Verdurine Sottaceto)

900 ml Water; (1One half pints)
600 ml Wine or cider vinegar; (1
pint)
25 g Salt; (1oz)
3 Carrots; cut or sliced up finely
2 Courgettes; cut or sliced up finely
1 lg Red onion; cut or sliced up
One half Cauliflower; broken into
small
; florets, or 1/2
; white cabbage,
; shredded
1 Bulb fennel; deseeded and
; cut or sliced up finely
Olive oil

1. Put the water, vinegar and salt in a large saucepan and bring to the
boil.

2. Add as many of the vegetables as will fit comfortably under the surface
and simmer for about 3 minutes or until the vegetables are still crunchy
but no longer raw.

3. Remove the vegetables with a slotted spoon and leave them to cool while
blanching the remainder.

4. When all the vegetables have been blanched and drained, leave them and
the cooking liquid to cool separately.

5. Arrange the vegetables in layers in a 1 litre (2 pint) jar, then pour in
the cooled cooking liquid, making sure the vegetables are covered
completely.

6. Trickle some olive oil on top to form a fine layer, put the lid on the
jar and leave in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours before serving. If
you wish to keep the verdurine for longer than 2 weeks, store it in
sterilised containers. Sterilise 4 bottling jars or jam jars with airtight,
vinegarproof lids, fill while the vegetables and liquid are still hot and
seal.

The verdurine will keep for up to 6 months if stored in this way.

Converted by MC_Buster.

NOTES : A small dish of mixed vegetables preserved in this manner makes a
pleasant starter or light snack. This recipe makes a fairly large quantity
but it keeps for at least two weeks in the refrigerator. In fact, the
ancient Romans used this method to preserve their vegetables for the
winter.

Converted by MM_Buster v2.0l.