Quick Pickled Beets
makes 1 pound of beets
This takes almost no time to do and leaves you with a delicious accompaniment to grilled and roasted meats, a snappy salad topping or sandwich condiment. Be sure to use a nonreactive saucepan and bowl -- the reaction of copper and aluminum to the acid in the vinegar can impart a metallic taste to the dish.
1 pound beets, trimmed and scrubbed
3 shallots, thinly sliced
2 cups red wine
2 cups red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar
1 sprig fresh thyme
1 bay leaf
10 black peppercorns
2 cups water
prep: 10 minutes
total: 20 minutes
large, nonreactive bowl
paper towel
vegetable scrub brush
mandolin (or sharp knife)
large, nonreactive saucepan (with lid)
1. Fill a large bowl with cold water. Trim the stems and roots from the beets and scrub them well in the cold water. Dry them off with a paper towel and slice them as thinly as possible using a mandolin or a sharp knife. Cut the shallots in half and peel them. Slice them thin.
2. Combine all the ingredients in a large saucepan. Bring everything to a simmer over medium-high heat. Immediately reduce the heat to low and partially cover the pot with a lid. Gently simmer the beets until they are tender (meaning, you can easily insert a paring knife into the middle of the beet).
3. Remove the thyme and bay leaf and keep the beets in the liquid -- refrigerated -- for up to two weeks.
