I had my first pickled beets about a few months ago at the local fruit market, and I instantly fell in love with them. They were on a tray for people to sample along with pickled onions, cauliflower, cabbage and other bright veggies. As I stood there, my mouth started salivating at these vinegary pickles just like your mouth must be salivating right now as you are reading these pickled words.
The taste of the beets was different from fresh beets. They didn’t have this “earthy” flavor anymore. They were sour, sweet, spicy, although the vinegar was a bit overpowering the rest of the ingredients.
After a few attempts at recreating what I thought was the perfect combination of sweet, sour and spicy pickle, I find this recipe to be the perfect pickled beets I’ve had so far. I added spearmint to the marinade as I like the fresh note that it adds to the marinade, but you can use dill if it’s what you prefer.
Pickled Beets
Recipe: Gourmet, December 2000
- 1 cup cider vinegar
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon mustard seeds
- 1/4 onion, halved
- 1 small bay leaf
- 3/4 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
- 1/4 bunch fresh spearmint
- 3 beets (1 lb without tops)
Betteraves Au Vinaigre
In Francais Please: Gourmet, Decembre 2000
- 250ml de vinaigre de cidre
- 125ml d’eau
- 125ml de sucre en poudre
- ¼ c.c de graines de moutarde
- ¼ oignon, coupé en deux
- 1 petite feuille de laurier
- ¾ c.c de graines de poivre noir
- ¼ bouquet de menthe
- 3 betterave (environ 500g sans leur tige)
- Bring all ingredients except beets to a boil in a 2- to 3-quart saucepan, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Cover and simmer 30 minutes.
- Mettre tous les ingredients à part les betterave dans une casserole de 2- à 3-Litres de capacité, porter à ébullition en remuant jusqu’à ce que le sucre se dilue. Couvrir et laisser frémir pendant 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, Cook beets in a saucepan of boiling salted water until tender. Drain and cool. Slip off skins and cut into 1/2-inch pieces.
- Entre temps, faire cuire les bettraves dans une casserle d’eau bouillante salée. Egoutter et laisser refroidir. Retirer la peau et couper en morceaux d’un centimeter d’épaisseur.
- Cool the marinade, and then pour through a fine sieve into a bowl.
- Laisser la marinade refroidir, puis passer à travers une fine passoire.
- Stir together beets and marinade, then marinate, covered and chilled, 1 day.
- Mélanger les betteraves et la marinade, puis laisser mariner, couvert et au frais, pendant au moins 24 heures avant de servir.
16 comments:
Pickled is the best way to eat beetroot. It's too sickly sweet otherwise, I think. You've caught the colour beautifully in the pictures. :)
still not in love with beets, but ... who knows ? ;)
I just recently had pickled beets. I order chicken from a Mediterranean restaurant and they gave me a container of hummus and pickled beets. They were really good. Your recipe has me thinking about pickling my own.
PS great pics.
I love beets - roasted, pickled. I am anxious to try your recipe. Your photos are beautiful!
These sound wonderful. I've only roasted beets up until now.
Eileen (passions to pastry)@
www.livingtastefully.com
Those beets looks good to complement a green salad
This looks great. I love beets pickled and I have gotten the kids so they will eat them too so this fall I plan for can a ton, unless this is my new fav. then I will just make this.
I've never been a fan of pickled beets, but your recipe sounds delish!
I love pickled beets! I do mine with cloves, I have never heard of spearmint, will have to try it!
- Wendy, thanks my dear! Roasted beets are my favorite too.
- Marion, You never know! But like we say, les gouts et les couleurs ne se discutent pas.
- Gigi, it is widely popular all acroos the Mediterranean, and it's really easy to make.
- Eat, hope you will like it. Please, let me know how it goes.
- Eileen, I like roasted beets, too. These are quite good, too.
- Sylvia, they are the perfect pairing. Salad, olives, and pickled beets and I'm in heaven. :)
- Shayne, I know how much you like pickled beets. I thought about you when making them.
- Aimee, thanks my dear friend.
- Marye, spearmint is most known here as...well, mint.Cloves sound great in this recipe. Spicy! ;)
My grandmother used to make pickled beets for us when I was a little girl, and every time I see them, I think of her. The color is irresistible, but so is the flavor.
I know that a lot of people don't care for beets at all but I love, love LOVE them! Roasted, boiled, and especially pickled. My mother used to eat the pickled beets out of a can (bleh) back in the 70's. I'd love to make my own... will do now that I see your post!
- Lydia, I am sure you grandma's recipe was fantastic. Will you share the secret with us, please!
- Recipegirl, your mother's way sure is the way to go ;) I do it all the time, straight from the jar. Hope you will like it!
I've never made pickled beets but these look great. I imagine they'd be great as appetizers or snacks at parties or tucked into salads and sandwiches. I'll have to add this to my ever growing list of Warda recipes to make. Love the labled bocal :)
I love beets and am looking forward to an abundance of them from my local CSA farm. I've never pickled them, so this recipe comes just in time. Thank you! Beautiful photos, by the way.
Melissa
How about red beet relish. This is a must dish for a Ukrainian and Polish Easter brunch. It is made with cooked and grated beets, vinegar, horseradish and a little bit of sugar. It is a great accompaniment to ham,cooked eggs, and Easter Bread.
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