A long time ago when someone wrote Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice - They were talking about pickled beets!
Sometimes we go to a local restaurant and they serve salads with fresh tomatoes in the summer and pickled beets in the winter (I can't decide which one is better *just kidding! totally the Beets)
but the ones I buy at the store, they have WAY too much sugar and honestly they aren't as yummy as the ones you make at home.
So when the CSA box came and it was full of dark earthy beets, I was over the moon excited - enough to eat and some to pickle.
I roasted all of them ..
HERE is my best post about how to do that without making everything in your kitchen beet-stained.
Ingredients:
1 bunch of red beets (about 1 pound)
½ C thinly sliced white onions
¼ tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp cloves
¼ allspice
¼ tsp whole grain mustard seeds
1 C white vinegar
½ C water
¾ C sugar
¼ tsp salt
Directions:
Cook beets by cleaning, wrapping in foil and baking in a 400º oven for 45 min to 1½ hours, depending on the size of the beets. They are done cooking when they begin to feel soft when you squish them (they're hot - use an oven mitt). Allow to cool for about an hour before you begin the pickling process
To make the pickling juice, in a large saucepan combine white vinegar, water, organic cane sugar, salt, and spices Stir until the sugar is dissolved.
Simmer for 5 minutes.
While the pickling juice is simmering, peel and rinse the cooked beets and cut into ⅛ inch slices. Also thinly slice your white onions.
After the pickling juice has simmered for 5 minutes add the sliced beets and onions to the saucepan and bring back up to a simmer, then remove from the heat.
Allow the beets to cool, and pour the pickled beets into a glass jar.
Store covered at the back of your fridge for up to one month.
