Pickled Beet Salad

It wouldn’t be a complete Thanksgiving meal without my pickled beet salad.   I love beets red, gold, white they are all delicious!  For Thanksgiving I always get golden beets.  They tend to be sweeter which makes a nice compliment when pickled.  So by request here we go.

The following are a must:

6 Medium to Large Gold Beets

1 Medium Red Onion Julienned

6 Small Sweet Peppers Julienned (optional)

1 1/2 Cups Apple Cider Vinegar

1 Cup Cold Water

1/2 Cup Raw Cane Sugar

1 Tablespoon Yellow Mustard Seeds

1/2 Teaspoon Allspice (or 6 whole cloves)

Zest of One Lemon

Coarse Salt

Place washed beets (roots and skins attached) in a Dutch oven pan with enough water to cover the beets and add few pinches of salt.  Bring to a rough boil; lower heat to simmer and cook for 35 to 40 minutes.

Fork should easily puncture when done.  Remove from heat and place in a cold water bath to stop the cooking process.  While beets are cooling, return Dutch oven pan to stove and add water, onions, peppers, and mustard seed.  Bring to rapid boil until veggies are tender.  Remove from heat and let cool.

Remove beets from water bath and peel skins away. Cut ends off; julienne and add to onion mixture.  Add all other ingredients.

Bring to hard boil for 5 minutes or until sugar has dissolved.  Continue to simmer for 15 minutes.  Remove from heat and let stand covered for 15 minutes making sure beets absorb all the flavors of the brine.  **Let cool and strain.  That’s it.  Refrigerate for up to 7 days.

**Save brine in canning jar to place your leftovers in for storage. The longer your beets are in the brine the more flavorful they become.   (I like to kick mine up with a dried habanero in the brine ;))

~~Ideas~~

Add goat cheese and serve room temp. over arugula.

Enjoy;)

Nini