Grab your home canning equipment, today we’re making HOMEMADE ANTIPASTO SAUCE!
IMPORTANT! This may not be considered a “safe” method of canning by some folks because I make it with tuna and oil. If you’re at all nervous, please DO NOT MAKE. However, I’ve made this recipe this way for years – sterilizing my jars, caps and lids and also processing the jars as I do with all home canning recipes. So have a whole bunch of others and none of us has ever had an issue. Again, if you’re at all nervous, please DO NOT MAKE. Otherwise, let’s continue!
Warning: be prepared to chop! I say it from the outset because although you’ll be lost for a little while preparing the ingredients for this recipe, the flavours in this HOMEMADE ANTIPASTO SAUCE makes it worth the effort.
Another thing to consider is how the recipe yields a large quantity of superior-flavoured condiments. You’ll be able to serve it up for a big gathering with friends and family, or give jars as a lovely gift too!
Before getting into my suggestions, a reminder to bookmark this page and PIN it to one of your Pinterest boards for future reference. We think it best categorized along with our other canning recipes: NANCY’S APRICOT JAM and our famous GARLIC DILL PICKLES.
BIG thanks to our friends Odila Busi and Angela Calamita from Windsor, Ontario. They forwarded their treasured family recipes for us to reference and use. These two expert home canners sure know what they’re doing, and our HOMEMADE ANTIPASTO SAUCE recipe is made all the better with their expert guidance.
Here are a few things to consider when you go to embark on this worthy endeavour:
HOME CANNING
Take a few moments to familiarize yourself with our steps for home canning. Click HERE to read our post about this rewarding process.
VEGETABLES
This HOMEMADE ANTIPASTO SAUCE recipe calls for an assortment of fresh seasonal vegetables. Preparing them for this recipe requires quite a bit of time and effort, but as mentioned above, it’s so worth it. Although you may be tempted to use a food processor, we suggest not. Instead, call in a friend to help with the prep work and chop these ingredients by hand for an even-textured sauce.
One comment about the pearl onions and peas used in our recipe. We found pearl onions in the frozen section of my local supermarket (who knew?). They add a subtle flavour, as did the bag of fresh peas. These round little gems made the finished sauce more appealing visually too.
CANNED INGREDIENTS
Our recipe calls for the inclusion of a number of canned ingredients. Depending on the brands you select, there may be a bit of prep work here as well. I needed to slice the stuffed green olives and also decided to chop the assorted canned mushrooms too. The main point is to keep the consistency of the sauce uniform, making spooning it less messy.
TUNA
Our antipasto was made using a premium-canned tuna packed in olive oil. It’s essential to drain the tuna thoroughly before breaking it up and adding into the sauce. Doing so will prevent the finished ANTIPASTO SAUCE from being oily.
PROCESSING
You’ll need to decide if you want to follow our lead and fill both 250 and 500ml sized jars. The smaller sized jars make lovely gifts for friends, while the larger size seems to work perfectly when placed out for parties.
BEST ENJOYED
Unlike our canned pickle recipes, this HOMEMADE ANTIPASTO SAUCE can be enjoyed the day after being made. Yay, there’s no need to wait for the flavours to mature.
We like serving it with warmed pita, freshly baked bread, crispy crackers or toast, and an assortment of fresh vegetable crudité. Placing one 500ml jar of ANTIPASTO SAUCE into a bowl at a party will make a number of guests very happy. Try it on these PITA CRISPS – delish!
Something fabulously delicious has gone to pot – let’s make HOMEMADE ANTIPASTO SAUCE!
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Homemade Antipasto Sauce
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Ingredients
- 1 litre vegetable oil
- 1 litre white vinegar
- 6 carrots, peeled and finely chopped
- 6 ribs celery, finely chopped
- 3 cups each green and yellow beans, thinly sliced
- 1 head cauliflower, thinly sliced and chopped
- 1 each green, red, yellow and orange bell peppers, chopped
- 1 jalapeño pepper, finely diced
- 3 cups pearl onions
- 3 cups fresh peas
- 2 (375ml) jars of stuffed green olives, drained and sliced
- 4 (250ml) cans assorted mushrooms, drained and chopped
- 2 (375ml) cans black olives, sliced and drained
- 1 (65g) jar capers, drained
- 5 (5.5 oz) cans tomato paste
- 4 (160g) cans flaked, oil-packed tuna, drained
- Optional:
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon red chili flakes
Directions
- Sterilize jars and equipment: Place jar lids and rings into a medium-sized bowl and cover with boiling water. Let stand for at least 10 minutes. Sterilize 8 x 500ml and 10 x 250ml canning jars either in a dishwasher run full cycle without soap or by washing and simmering them in boiling water for 10 minutes. Sterilize canning funnel, ladle and tongs in the same manner.
- Make the antipasto sauce: Pour the oil and vinegar into a large soup pot and bring to a boil. Add the carrots, cauliflower, celery and beans, stir and bring to a boil. Cook for 10 minutes.
- Stir in the bell peppers, jalapeño, pearl onions and peas and cook for an additional 5 minutes. Add the green olives, black olives, chopped mushrooms, capers and tomato paste. Stir to combine completely. Cook for an additional 10 minutes. Add the tuna, stir again and cook for 5 minutes.
- Remove from heat. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt, pepper and chili flakes.
- Fill the jars - here are my guidelines to seal properly: Place sterilized funnel on top of the first jar and carefully ladle in the hot antipasto. Tamp sauce down into the jar using a sterilized spoon. Leave ¼-inch of room at the top. Wipe rim of jar with a wet paper towel to remove any sauce.
- Place sterilized lid on top of jar using magnet wand or tongs. Place ring on and turn just until finger-tight. Repeat process until all jars are filled.
- Transfer filled jars to boiling water and process for 10 minutes. Carefully remove jars from pot and place them onto your work surface, leaving undisturbed for 24 hours. After a day, check that the centre area of each lid has depressed. Wipe jars clean and store in a cool, dark and dry place, or gift to someone special.
Related by Recipe Type
- Side Dishes
Related by Ingredient
- Black Pepper
- Canned Assorted Mushrooms
- Canned Tuna
- Capers
- Carrots
- Cauliflower
- Celery
- Chili Flakes
- Green Beans
- Green Peppers
- Jalapeño Pepper
- Kosher Salt
- Orange Peppers
- Pearl Onions
- Peas
- Red Peppers
- Sliced Black Olives
- Stuffed Manzanilla Green Olives
- Tomato Paste
- Vegetable Oil
- White Vinegar
- Yellow Beans
- Yellow Peppers
