Pickled Beetroot
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Personally, I like shop-bought pickled beetroot. But this recipe for home pickling is much tastier and it's fun to experiment with the ingredients. |
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Ingredients
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- Up to 2kg fresh beetroot
- 1 ½ litres vinegar - either malt vinegar or wine vinegar, depending on your preference
- 1 tablespoon whole coriander seeds
- 1 tablespoon whole peppercorns
- About 10 whole cloves
- 1 bay leaf (dried
- 100g Sugar (optional
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Method
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- Chop the stalks off the beetroot, leaving an inch at the end. Scrub the beetroot gently to remove any mud, but 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.
- While the beetroot is baking, make the vinegar mixture:
- Put the vinegar, coriander, cloves, peppercorns and 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.
- Drain before using.
Note: if you prefer sweet pickled beetroot, add 250g sugar to the vinegar before heating. Stir well to make sure the sugar has dissolved.
- If the skins were thick, you can peel the beetroot - it's up to you. Wear gloves, if peeling, or it'll take ages for your finger nails to return to their usual colour!
- Slice the beetroot into 1/2 cm slices.
- Put the slices into sterilised jars.
- Wash the 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 then fill whilst still warm
- Use a vinegar-resistant lid (i.e. plastic-coated, so no metal comes into contact with the vinegar, or this would corrode and ruin the pickle)
- Bring the vinegar mixture to the boil and then fill the jars.
- Seal the jars with an airtight, vinegar resistant lid.
- Leave for a few weeks before eating. Gently shake the jars every week or so, to allow the flavours to infuse.
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Time From Cupboard-To-Table
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About 1 hour |
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Notes & Variations on
Pickled Beetroot
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Don't prick the beetroot or completely remove the stalks, or the beetroot juices will leak during cooking.
Experiment with the spices you use in your pickling vinegar.
If you're really organised, you'll get a better flavour by preparing your vinegar several months ahead! Put the spices in the cold vinegar bottle and leave for 2 months. Don't heat.
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Have you tried this recipe? Tell us what you think of it.
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Find more recipes
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Beetroot Recipes
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Beetroot Hummus
Beetroot is one of those vegetables that seems to quickly build into gluts.
There's only so much you can pickle or bake, before you start to get bored.
So here's a quick and nutritious recipe to use up cooked beetroot and add a new twist to a traditional dish.
Hummus is a staple of Middle Eastern cookery. Its blend of chick peas and sesame seeds are a valuable source of calcium, protein, vegetable fats, iron and B vitamins. The addition of beetroot increases the vitamin C content and adds magnesium. All of which combines to make this pretty much a super-food.
The pretty pink colour makes it fun for kids, so you might even be able to persuade little ones to eat this on toast or with fresh veg sticks!
You can either make this from scratch, with dried chick peas and fresh beetroot or you can whiz it up in 5 minutes using pre-cooked beetroot and a can of chick peas / frozen chick peas.
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Pink Mash
This recipe for beetroot pink mash is vibrant, packed with nutrients and really tasty. It's a great way to experiment with fresh beetroot. Why not give it a go? Thanks to Natasha Mangion for sending this in!
Natasha says: "My friend Karen & I went through a stage where we were interested in Chakras and colour therapies and we used to experiment with what we called 'Chakra Cooking'. This recipe is both fun and Very colourful and really gets you in touch with your Base Chakra which is Red.
I just like it because it's an interesting way to liven up mashed potato and it really looks striking!! Nice and bright on those dark winter days!
It's also a great way to get kids to eat veg."
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Baked Beetroot
This recipe is best done with baby beetroots, whilst they're nearer the size of golf balls than tennis balls. They cook more quickly and taste sweeter.
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Beetroot & Orange Salad
The combination of beetroot, orange and coriander is fragrant and the flavours really compliment each other.
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Beetroot Soup (Borscht)
This recipe is a great way of using end of season beetroot. It is simple and delicious - just beware its staining potential!
The potatoes are optional and aren't usually included in the traditional Borscht recipe, but they help thicken the soup, which makes it less messy for kids to eat. |
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Caramelised Beetroot
This recipe is great because it brings out the sweetness of the beetroot and you can leave it to cook in the oven while you prepare the rest of the meal. |
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