Easy Pickled Fresh Beetroot

How is your beetroot growing? If you planted several seedlings and they are naturally maturing at the same time, you’ll no doubt be looking for plenty of ways to enjoy them.

Roasted beetroot is delicious, Beetroot Relish is divine with cheese and crackers, Beetroot Hummus is very tasty…but don’t forget Pickled Beetroot – perfect for summer salads with feta and rocket, or layered into your burger.  Pickled Fresh Beetroot is really easy.  In this recipe I used fresh beetroot. If you are using frozen, see my Pickled Beetroot from Frozen blog as it has more relevant hints (and plays with different ingredients such as onion and mint in the brine).

Weight and measures don’t matter so much for this particular recipe. I picked a few beetroot from the garden and they weighed around 1kg combined (once the greens had been removed) so this recipe is based on that. The method is the same but you may want to increase your brine if you are pickling a larger amount.

Easy Picked Fresh Beetroot

Ingredients

• 1kg fresh beetroot, greens/stems removed
• 700ml white wine vinegar
• 1 Tbsp peppercorns
• 1 Tbsp coriander seeds
• 1 Tbsp yellow mustard seeds
• 1/2 tsp whole cloves
• 1/4 tsp dried chilli flakes
• 3 bay leaves
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• sea salt (1 tsp per jar)

Method

1. Leave the roots intact and approximately 1-inch of stem on beets remaining, then wash/scrub beetroot with a soft brush, or fingertips, to remove the dirt.
2. Place whole beetroot in a large saucepan, cover with cold water, then bring to the boil.  Once at boiling point, reduce the heat, cover with a lid and simmer for approx. 45 minutes or until tender (you can test by inserting a skewer or prodding with a sharp knife).
3. Drain, rinse with cold water. Once cool enough to handle, using fingertips peel away the skin which should come off easily (under running water makes for a cleaner process). If necessary, trim off the roots if they didn’t easily come away with fingertips.  It does get a bit messy so make sure you’re not wearing your best shirt!  Slice the cooked beetroot thinly or in wedges, then set aside.
4. In a medium saucepan heat all other ingredients (except the salt) and simmer for approx 5 minutes.
5. Place beetroot tightly into hot sterilised jars. Allow a few centimetres of space at the top of the jar and ensure they are packed as tightly as possible. Pour the spiced brine over the beetroot to ensure they are well covered.

Enjoy!