The Best Pickled Beets

Ingredients:

1 bunch or 4 medium size beets

1 cup apple cider vinegar

1 cup salted beet water (instructions on this below)

2 tablespoons brown sugar

½ teaspoon cinnamon 

¼ teaspoon ground cloves

Salt

1 liter mason jar with lid for storage (or 2 smaller jars) 

Directions:

First, boil your beets! Fill a large pot with water and salt generously. Bring to a boil. Rinse your beets and trim off the greens, leaving a little bit of the stem. 

Note: You can save the beet greens to make a side dish! Just chop, sauté with olive oil, salt, pepper, minced garlic until softened. 

Add beets to boiling water and cover. Reduce heat to medium. Boil for about 30 minutes until the beets are slightly soft. (Smaller beets will only take about 20 minutes and larger beets can take up to 40 minutes). Remove beets BUT reserve the water! Run beets under cold water and rub to remove the skin. Slice into desired size slices. I like mine to be a little on the chunkier side.

Put beet slices in your jar (or divide the recipe in half if using 2 jars). Fill with apple cider vinegar, brown sugar and spices. Pour salted beet water on top and fill to the top of the jar. Close the lid and give your beets a shake to mix. Refrigerate for at least 24 hours before eating. This recipe will keep for up to 6 weeks in the fridge. 

Eat on their own as a healthy snack or use in a salad! 

Shown here is one of my favorite beet salad recipes to make: Pickled beets over greens, shaved fennel, ricotta cheese, toasted pistachios & balsamic glaze. Sprinkled with edible flower petals if you can find ‘em!

Local friends: all produce featured here from Vibrant Farm.