We’ll keep things fresh and verdant by fermenting: snow peas, sugar snap peas, asparagus, and spring onions. Then finish at the table with chopped herbs, olives, tossed with a good finish of oil, and crowned with shaved hard cheese. It’s an appetizer, but it can be fancied when tossed with pasta. Antipasto Primavera is a recipe flush with spring!
This recipe makes 2 quarts.
– Recipe by Bill Hettig
Ingredients for Antipasto Primavera:
- 12 ounces of asparagus, tough bottoms snapped off, bite size pieces.
- 1¼ cup of scallion or spring onion (2-3). Make them thin and angled slices.
- 1¼ cup of celery (2 ribs), thin slices.
- 8 ounces of sugar snap peas, small only, with the strings removed.
- 8 ounces of snow peas, strings removed. Halve the larger pods.
- 1 tablespoon of lemon zest.
- 2 tablespoons of Celtic Sea Salt or other premium brand for the brine.
- Seasoning options – try a single herb or combination of tarragon, thyme, and/or chives. For a spice blend try 1 tablespoon of herbes de Provence. Another good choice is 2 tablespoons of Coastal Blend from The Spice & Tea Exchange.
Directions for Antipasto Primavera:
- Soak and drain the veggies. Combine all in a bowl and mix in the herbs of your choice.
- Load a clean 2 quart wide mouth canning jar, tamping lightly as you go until 2 inches from the lip of the jar.
- Make your salt water brine solution. To do this, dissolve salt in filtered water at a ratio of 2 tablespoons of salt to 4 cups of water for this two quart batch.
- Fill your two quart jar with this brine solution until about one inch from the jar lip.
- Use some sort of weighty object to hold the Antipasto Primavera under the brine solution. Be sure to place the jar in your sink as you do this as there is sure to be spillage. We sell our brine overflow cup as a weight here: Brine “Catch” Cup – Wide Mouth
- Remove the cup and wipe any debris on the lip of the cup and the jar, then put the cup back in. Install a Lid Gasket inside a Wide Mouth Fermenter Lid. Tighten the lid on until its snug.
- Add tap water to a ClearView Airlock to the max line. Now gently insert the airlock into the hole of the fermenter lid until snug. Make sure not to push too deeply into the lid. As the fermentation happens, the water should move back and forth, and bubbles should move through the airlock, this is correct and indicates a tight seal.
- Write down the date you began fermentation on the lid using a Lid Marking Pen. After 4 days, check to see if the Antipasto Primavera is sour enough for you. If it is not, just add a day and re-check.
For even better and more delectable recipes, check out our Fermentation Recipe Booklet, where you will find many recipes, tips and tricks to brine pickling, and so much more!
