Although you can eat beets raw, I prefer them roasted. The easiest thing to do is to roast them ahead so they are ready to eat whenever you want to serve them. Go a step further and you can Quick Pickle your Beets! It gives them a wonderful bright flavor that makes them a perfect addition to a salad or relish tray. Getting even more creative, I’m planning on serving them with my Sweet Potato Latkes and other condiments for a company breakfast!
Roasting beets is quite simple but it takes about an hour plus cooling time, so doing it ahead is a smart thing to do. Once roasted, you can store them in an airtight container for up to a week in the refrigerator and then just slice off as much as you need for each meal. I scrub them clean and then wrap them in foil, roast in a 375° oven for about an hour until they are tender. Let them sit until they are cool enough to handle and just slide the skins off with your hands!
This time I did a quick pickle process on the slices and it came out fantastic! I used a holiday gift that I received called Michigan Apple Pie Drinking Vinegar by McClary Bros. It is a drink mix made with apple cider vinegar, organic cane sugar, apples and spices. Then I added some additional apple cider vinegar and crushed garlic, heated it to boiling and then removed it from the heat. (I’ve adapted a recipe for you with apple cider vinegar, sugar and garlic) I sliced the roasted beets and let the slices soak in the solution for about 30 minutes. Voila, the result was some wonderful pickled beets to use in my salad that night and more to store for another meal!
Salads are just a palette for your creativity. I usually use whatever I have on hand that I think will balance together well. With the sweetly acidic pickled beets, I combined some Talley Farms purple radishes & pink lady apple slices along with candied pecans and goat cheese. I always keep several varieties of flavored vinegars on hand as I prefer my salads lightly dressed with a combination of vinegar and oil, salt and pepper. My selection this time was a Passion Fruit vinegar made by A L’Olivier out of Paris. I dressed leaves of Talley Farms organic butter lettuce and then topped the salad with my other ingredients. Light, fresh and delightful. It was fantastic!!
Quick Pickled Beets
- 3 beets, roasted, peeled and sliced into 1/2″ slices (any type)
- 1 cup apple cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons organic sugar
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- In a small saucepan, heat the apple cider vinegar, sugar and garlic to boiling. Remove the pan from the heat and add the beet slices. Let sit for 30 minutes rotating as needed to ensure all of the beets are covered. Remove the beets with a slotted spoon and serve on a salad or as a condiment.
- Store any leftovers in an airtight container for up to a week in the refrigerator.
- If you are using larger beets that will not mostly submerge in the liquid, add more ingredients in the same ratios to increase the pickling liquid.
(click here) for printable recipe