Pickled beets are not just for the salad bar. Come on, you know the ones. Their neon glow reflects so queasily on the sneeze guard. You know, it’s not that pickled beets taste bad, really I think they taste good… it’s just… they are so intimidating.
I know beets are good for you and they are a natural source of sugar, and even though I make beets quite often, I am always intimidated by the pickled version. I guess I’m always thinking that they are going to taste like an odd combination of dill pickles and roasted beets. So the other day I was at Whole Foods and I saw a jar of pickled beets and strawberries. Sounds good…definitely no weird dill garlic beets combo in there. Problem… 8 bucks. I passed…on the jar, not the idea.
I came home and started playing. What I discovered was a crazy amazing combination of flavors!
Pickled Beets and Strawberries
Step one: Roast 2 large beets
2 large beets
1 tablespoon olive oil
sprinkle of saltroast at 400, wrapped in foil for 1 hour.
Step two: prep the strawberries and peel beets
Slice 1 pint of strawberries
Let the beets cool to room temperature and then peel the skin off the beets and then slice the beetsStep three: prepare to pickle
in a small bowl combine the sliced strawberries and beets with the juice and zest of 1 blood orange and 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar.
Put the whole mixture in a air-tight container and let sit for 3 days.
Serve with crackers and goat cheese or just eat out of the jar… they are that good!
Always thinking of the next meal
-Katie
So very glad that you posted this. I found them at the local farmers market at the Blackberry Farms stand. They were $9 a jar. Needless to say I’ve been searching since for something I could do at home. I can’t wait to try your recipe. Blackberry Farms had some sample jars & I just had to try it b/c of the oddity (or so I thought) of the combination. They were so good. Any idea how long these will keep in the fridge? I’d love to find a canning version as well if you come across anything. Thanks again for posting!
After about 10 days these started tasting a little sour. Kind of the way that fruit salad sours just before it goes completely South. If you canned them they would be fine for 3-6 months. Thanks for the comment!