Pickled Beets: ideas for using them

[Katie Meadow]

I just made pickled beets. First time ever! And they are really good. I suppose you would call it a quick pickle, as they were not heat sealed in any way and tasted just right the next two days. I've been eating them out of the jar by themselves, or on a plate with simple raw vegetables like kohlrabi. In North Carolina they were often served as a side in a little dish. I started craving them, and every time they were offered I thought, "I can do this." Turns out I can do them better. But what else should I do with them? Matchstick them and add to coleslaw? Add them to a potato salad? What do you like to pair them with?

[Bojana]

Risotto, pasta salad, anything with dairy based sauce, sous vide cooked salmon @ 49C, mayonnaise with diced beet with sourdough bread and poached egg...mmm getting hungry

[Denadar]

I love beets but have always cooked them before using but I made raw pickled beets (a bit like the Middle Eastern pickled turnips) for the first time a few days ago to go with a salmon starter. Can't stop eating them they are so delicious I love the cooked ones with smoked salmon and creme fraiche with a smidgeon of horseradish. I think the are good as a "dauphinoise" too. Sweat some finely chopped onions with garlic and put in the bottom of an oven proof dish, layer with beets, then cream, season as you go, and as many layers of this as you want. Bake in a medium oven for about 45 - 50 mins. Lovely. So many good recipes.

[rotuts]

Id very much love to see the pickled beet Rx's Farmers markets are starting here and Id love to make my own.

[abadoozy]

I put them in chef's salads. In fact, I don't make chef's salads if we're out of pickled beets, because they add so much to the whole thing. Love them!

They're best when made from fresh beets, but my mother, who has pretty bad arthritis in her hands, and thus doesn't want to spend too much time peeling & cooking beets, makes them from canned beets. They're almost as good, I think, and I do it in a pinch as well when I'm craving them and don't have the time to roast and peel and slice and then clean up all the red beet juice that's all over my hands, clothing, and kitchen.

Edited June 5, 2013 by abadoozy (log)

[heichmanron]

In Israel its common to see them in spreads, if you like the taste enough that you wouldn't mind eating a paste of them, you can process them with labne (yogurt cheese), cream cheese, or whatever spread you like and spread them on bread.

[Jaymes]

How about the famous classic, Red Flannel Hash?

[Katie Meadow]

Id very much love to see the pickled beet Rx's Farmers markets are starting here and Id love to make my own.

The recipe I have indicates that it was originally from Gourmet Magazine

Bring the following ingredients to a boil, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Then cover and simmer 30 min: 2 c cider vinegar,1 c water, 1 cup sugar, 1/2 tsp or more pickling spice, 1/2 tsp mustard seeds, 1/2 med onion, quartered, small bay leaf, 1 tsp black peppercorns, stalks of fresh dill. Cool. I might cut back just a little on the sugar next time.

Meanwhile roast about 6 med beets in the oven with skins on, rubbed with olive oil and salt, in a roasting pan covered with a foil top. Okay, confession: I don't like messing with red beets. My roasted beets are typically either chiogga or golden. The chioggas look beautiful in this recipe. I roasted mine at about 385 degrees for about 40 minutes, or until tender but still firm. I like to keep them covered and let them sit another 15 or 20 minutes, then uncover and cool until you can easily peel off the skin. I quartered them and then sliced them in 1/4 inch pieces.

The original recipe suggested straining the pickling mixture and then pouring it only the beets packed in jars. I didn't bother to strain, but I held out the onions. They made a packed quart with one or two small servings left over. They were great after just 24 hours.

So far I have added them to a potato salad, along with some of their pickling juice. My only advice would be to go easy on the pickling juice. The beets themselves are pretty distinctive tasting, and I used a bit too much juice, so the whole salad had a slightly pickled quality. Which you may or may not like.

I've made red flannel hash in the past with roasted beets, but never pickled. I've had Israeli style beets that were finely diced and then drizzled with olive oil and parsley. Can't remember if they were pickled or not, but that could be good. They were served on the side in a mezze plate along with hummus, babaganouj, a tomato-cuke salad and a cabbage slaw. A hot green sauce was served with. Good with all the sides, including the beets. A beet spread sounds yummy. And I can imagine beets and cukes would be good with a yogurt dressing.

[Jaymes]

Maybe I should put this over in Guilty Pleasures, but my mother loved sliced pickled beet and peanut butter sandwiches.

[jamesbarns]

Maybe I should put this over in Guilty Pleasures, but my mother loved sliced pickled beet and peanut butter sandwiches.

That actually reminds me of my grandfather. He likes to put peanut butter and relish on his hot dogs! But that's irrelevant.

I like to put pickled beets in just about any kind of salad. And as everybody else has said, once I start eating them out of the jar, I don't stop until the jar is empty!

----------------------------------------------

James

http://toptenreview.hubpages.com/hub/Best-Top-Rated-Mini-Refrigerator-Fridge-with-Freezer

[Jaymes]

Maybe I should put this over in Guilty Pleasures, but my mother loved sliced pickled beet and peanut butter sandwiches.

That actually reminds me of my grandfather. He likes to put peanut butter and relish on his hot dogs! But that's irrelevant.

I like to put pickled beets in just about any kind of salad. And as everybody else has said, once I start eating them out of the jar, I don't stop until the jar is empty!

Yep, and I don't stop there.

Probably should also put this over in Guilty Pleasures, but my favorite pickled beets are Lovera's: http://www.amazon.com/grocery-gourmet-food/dp/B003ZJNKJG After I've eaten all the beets, I add a dollop of sour cream to the jar, shake it up, and what do I have?

Instant borscht.

Edited June 6, 2013 by Jaymes (log)

[Katie Meadow]

In the same vein, I served my sliced pickled beets with a little bowl of creme fraiche and mini silver spoons. Borscht on steroids! Agree that it verges on guilty pleasure.

[ruthcooks]

My former MIL made her pickled beets with sliced onions (I like them almost better than the beets), vinegar, water, BROWN sugar, and a few cloves in each quart jar. The beets were in 1 1/2 inch chunks or whole, if small.

Of course, her main secret was rich, black, almost fluffy Illinois farm land to grow the beets in. Nowadays, you have to pay a fortune for supermarket beets, 3 to a bunch.

[toolprincess]

Here's what I did. I boiled the beets until tender and then the skins peel right off. (Beware pink hands). Then mix 1 cup white vinegar, 1 cup water, 1/2 cup sugar, 2tsps salt and 1/4 tsp pepper. Boil this and pour over beets in jar. Let cool and refrigerate.

[SobaAddict70]

Pair them with marinated sardines and, if you have some, either Cara Cara oranges or Meyer lemons.

Trust me on this one.

[Katie Meadow]

I DO trust you. How do you marinate sardines? Are you talking about the Italian sarde in saor? I love them, but have never had the nerve or the energy to try and turn fresh sardines into saor ones myself. Can you buy them already marinated?

[SobaAddict70]

I DO trust you. How do you marinate sardines? Are you talking about the Italian sarde in saor? I love them, but have never had the nerve or the energy to try and turn fresh sardines into saor ones myself. Can you buy them already marinated?

http://kitchenseasons.com/2012/04/24/sardines-with-bread-crumbs/ should give you an idea.

[lindag]

I can't resist beets! Whenever I see them fresh in the grocery I have to buy them.

Love to have them pickled, or just plain steamed with salt and pepper or, even better, Harvard Beets.

If I had a garden, It'd be half beets.

[furzzy]

This isn't really ways to use pickled beets, but to make them. As many things have become more difficult for me to accomplish, roasting & peeling beets being one of those things, I've come to using the cooked, peeled, vacuum packed little beets from Trader Joe's. they're great for anything one would use beets for, including pickling them.

[nickrey]

Beetroot dip. Chop them coarsely, add yoghurt to desired texture. Seasons with lemon juice, cumin, coriander, salt and pepper. Serve with toasted pita bread.

[Jaymes]

I can't resist beets! Whenever I see them fresh in the grocery I have to buy them.

Love to have them pickled, or just plain steamed with salt and pepper or, even better, Harvard Beets.

If I had a garden, It'd be half beets.

And when you have that garden that is "half beets," don't overlook the greens. Here in the US south, we sure love our greens. And beet greens are right up there at the top of that list.

http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/beet_greens/