1stop Organic Gardening

OK, as promised, here’s my recipe for the beetroot I pickled mid summer – grown in my organic vegetable garden.

Pickled Beetroot

Ingredients

Up to 2kg fresh beetroot
1½ litres vinegar – either malt vinegar or wine vinegar, depending on what you prefer
1 tablespoon whole coriander seeds
1 tablespoon whole peppercorns
About 10 whole cloves
1 dried bay leaf
250g Sugar (optional)

Method

1. Chop the stalks off the beetroot, leaving 2cm (an inch) attached to the beetroot. Scrub the beetroot gently, removing any dirt, taking care not to damage the skin. Wrap them in foil and bake at 180 degrees C for up to 2 hours, until they are tender.
2. While the beetroot is baking, make the vinegar mixture:
   • Place vinegar, coriander, cloves, peppercorns & bay leaf in a large pan
   • Bring to the boil for about 1 minute.
   • Turn off the heat and cover the pan.
   • Leave the flavours to infuse for about 2 hours.
   • Strain and disgard spices before using (optional).

Note: if you prefer sweet pickled beetroot, add 250g sugar to the vinegar before heating. Stir well to make sure the sugar has dissolved.

3. If the skins are thick, you can peel the beetroot. Wear gloves if peeling, or risk your fingers and nails turning pretty, bright pink!
4. Slice the beetroot into 1/2 cm slices.
5. Place your slices into sterilised jars.
   • Wash your jars in hot, soapy water and rinse well
   • Put upside down in an oven at 100 degrees C for 20 minutes
   • Allow to cool slightly and fill while still warm
   • Use a vinegar-resistant lid (i.e. plastic-coated, so no metal comes into contact with the vinegar, or this corrodes and will ruin the pickle)

6. Bring the vinegar mixture to the boil and then fill the jars.
7. Seal the jars with an airtight, vinegar resistant lid.
8. Leave for a few weeks before eating. Gently shake the jars every week or so, to allow the flavours to infuse.

Time From Cupboard-To-Table

About an hour

Tips For Pickled Beetroot

Don’t prick the beetroot or completely remove the stalks, or the beetroot juices will leak during cooking, leaving you with a very pale vegetable.

Experiment with which spices you choose in your pickling vinegar.

If you’re really organised, you’ll get a better flavour by preparing your vinegar several months ahead of time. Put the spices in a cold vinegar bottle and leave for 2 months. You don’t need to heat.

So there you have it. I like my pickled beetroot better than the canned beetroot. It’s delicious(a very pleasant surprise actually) and I know exactly how it was grown and pickled.

Happy Organic Gardening, Healthy Living…

Julie

Filed under: Recipes, vegetables on June 11th, 2008