Sweet and sour vegetable sauce

During the summer we had prepared several vegetable preserves to be used for the winter, crunchy green tomatoes in oil and spicy stuffed chili peppers in oil, made with products available only in the summer; I offer you a traditional preserve, to be prepared at any time of the year, with vegetables always available: a sweet and sour side dish, tasty and to accompany boiled meat. A vegetarian side dish, based on celery, carrots, onions, peppers, green beans, in a perfect balance of flavors, where the sweet and sour taste and a soft, shiny and caramelized texture make this dish appetizing. The recipe is versatile, it allows the use of other vegetables of our liking: eggplant, zucchini, carrots, fennel, pumpkin, flavored with garlic cloves, chili pepper, peppercorns, a grating of ginger.

Ingredients

Celery, 600 g

Carrots, 600 g

Onions, 600 g

Peppers, 600 g

Green beans, 600 g 

Extra virgin olive oil, 1 liter

White vinegar, 1 liter

Fine salt, a handful

Sugar 3 tbsp

Procedure

Cut the vegetables into cubes, into a finely diced section;

Pour the oil, vinegar, salt and vegetables into a saucepan and cook for about 30 minutes: the vegetables must remain al dente. Add the sugar 5 minutes before turning off Immediately put the sweet and sour vegetables with their sauce, still boiling, in the jars. Close the jars and sterilize everything by boiling them in a pot immersed in hot water, calculating 30 minutes from when it starts to boil. Let the jars cool in the water; you can keep them for a few months, keeping an eye on the tightness of the cap and the alteration of the color. Eat sweet and sour vegetables, drained from their sauce, to accompany boiled meats, or to fill delicious sandwiches with cured meats.