This post is a little late in being put up, but I thought I would share it anyway as the recipes below are pretty yummy.
Tony and I had a big glut of beetroot and the beginning of this summer after sowing way too many Golden Detroit and Bull's Blood seeds the previous autumn. By the end of November we were getting sick of eating them so we pulled the remainder out of out plot.
I made our 3 kg of leftovers into pickles (for us) and relish (for Christmas presents).
Here are the recipes:
Beetroot Relish
This is a doubled recipe that I adapted from Taste.com. If you change quantities make sure you have a taste to get the sugar/vinegar balance right.
1.7 kg beetroot
2 onions
2 Granny Smith apples, peeled and chopped
1.5-2 cups lightly packed brown sugar, to taste
2 cups apple cider vinegar
2 star anise
6 cloves
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1- Boil beetroot with skins on for 20 min. Drain, rinse and allow to cool slightly. Pull skins away and thinly slice.
2- Bring onion, apple, sugar, vinegar and spices to boil in a large saucepan. Reduce heat to low and simmer until sugar dissolves and apple is tender
3 - Add beetroot, and simmer for 45 minutes and mixture starts to thicken. Remove star anise and cloves.
4 - Spoon hot relish into sterile jars and seal
5- Eat with Christmas ham
Cold Beetroot and Carrot Pickle
This is not strictly a recipe, more what I found works to pickle just about anything. I've given rough quantities below but it's also important to be guided by taste (especially with the pickling liquid).
4 small raw beetroot
2-3 raw carrots
3 spring onions
1 sprig of Majoram (growing in our herb circle)
1 tsp mustard seeds
2 bay leaves
pinch salt and freshly ground pepper
Vinegar - white wine or apple cider
Water
Caster sugar
1- slice veggies as thinly as possible, then mix with seasonings. Pack all into jar(s) as tightly as possible
2 - Mix pickling solution - usually 1 part vinegar to 2 parts water and a tablespoon or two of sugar.
3- Pour pickling solution into jars, seal and place in fridge.
The cold pickles should be good for 4-6 weeks in the fridge, and will last longer with a higher vinegar content.
Enjoy!
Eileen