There is something stunning about beetroots in their pickle form. I love the the way they transform a salad or a sandwich into something very cheffy and expensive. I’ve never made a pickle before so this recipe took a few attempts. It’s also not a large batch because I don’t have a big fridge. It fills a small 400g-500g jar.
Perfect beetroot pickle to dress up a sandwich or a salad
You’ll need
- 250g raw whole beetroot – I use the teeny ones from my allotment
- 1 tsp salt
- 80g caster sugar
- 100ml cider vinegar
- 4 tsp cumin seeds
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
To make it
- Place the cumin seeds into a frying pan or a wok and dry fry them for a few minutes to release the flavour. Leave aside to cool.
- Clean the beetroots, top and tail them and then pop them in a saucepan and cover with water.
- Bring the pan to the boil with the salt and cook til the beets are tender.
- Once cooked, leave to cool slightly and then peel off the skins. They should come off easily without the need for a knife.
- Put the caster sugar, cider vinegar and cumin into a saucepan and bring to the boil.
- Reduce the heat and simmer the liquid for 5 minutes.
- Add the cooked beetroots and bring back to the boil and cook for a couple of minutes.
- Leave to cool slightly before you spoon them and the liquid into a sterlised jar. They must be completely covered.
- Add the extra extra virgin oilve oil over the top of the pickling liquid to keep the oxygen out completely.
- Seal the jars and then leave to cool before putting them into the fridge.
These do not need to sit for a while before you eat them but the pickling liquid does mellow as you leave it so I prefer leave it for a few days before eating.