As the Thanksgiving holiday is approaching, I am happy to share a recipe using one of my favorite fall ingredients - pickled beets! This dish is very simple to make and would go great with your Thanksgiving feast.
Oven Roasted and Pickled Rainbow Beets
Ingredients:
2 lbs rainbow beets (assorted baby beets)
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp salt
1 jalapeno peppers
6 ea green onions
Pickling Liquid
1 cup olive oil
1 tsp tumeric
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp cracked black pepper
1 tsp yellow mustard seeds
1 tsp brown mustard seeds
2 cloves garlic
1 small knob ginger
1 cup rice wine vinegar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp salt
Method:
Preset oven to 375F. Cut greens away from beets, reserving for another use. Leave a half inch of stems on the top of the beets. Wash and dry the beets. Place in a bowl with the two tbsp olive oil and 1 tsp salt and toss to coat. Place the beets on a baking pan and place in the preheated oven. Back for 15 to 20 minutes, depending on size, until the beets are just soft when pierced with a skewer. Remove from the oven and allow to cool to room temperature.
Slice the jalapeno in half, the long way, and remove the seeds. Slice the halves into halfmoon and place in a bowl. Wash the green onions and remove the top green half and reserve for another use. Cut off the root. Slice the white onion on the bias and add to the jalapeno. With a towel, rub the skins off the beets leaving the stem intact. Add to the bowl with the jalapeno and onion.
To make the pickling liquid, place the rice wine vinegar, brown sugar and salt in a small sauce pan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Stir to dissolve the sugar. Remove from the heat and set aside.
Peel the ginger and grate with a fine grater to yield 1 1/2 tsp grated ginger. Peel and mince the garlic. Place the olive oil in a small sauce pan and place on the stove, on medium heat, until the olive oil is hot. Add the tumeric, peppers, cumin, mustard seeds, garlic and ginger. Saute the spices to release their flavors about one minute. Remove from the heat and add the vinegar mixture immediately. Stir and pour over the beet mixture. Allow to cool to room temperature. Place the pickled beets in a glass jar. Cover and refrigerate up to two weeks.
