The earthy sweetness of beets combines with the tang of vinegar to make an explosion of flavor.  These pickled beets are delicious on falafel or as part of a Middle Eastern style mezze spread with hummus, olives and stuffed grape leaves. In addition to tasting good, they also look good.  If you’ve ever cooked with beets before, you know that they stain – so wear gloves unless you’re okay with having pink hands for the day.  You can also peel them under running water to help prevent staining your hands.  By boiling the beets whole, you can peel them in seconds under cold water, to see how easy it is, watch our video.

Ingredients:

1 bunch (4 or 5) beets
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1 TBL sugar
1 TBL olive oil
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
Salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Watch our video on how to peel beets or follow these simple instructions. Remove greens from beets, save for future use. Thoroughly scrub the beets to remove all dirt. Place beets in a large pot and cover with 2 inches of water. Bring to a low boil and cook until beets are tender when pierced with a knife, 30 to 40 minutes depending on the size of the beets.

2.  Drain the beets and rinse them in cold water. Use your fingers to slip the peels off of the beets. The peels should come off easily. Discard the peels. Quarter the beets and then dice them into ½ inch cubes. Put into a large bowl. Set aside while you make the vinaigrette.

3.  While the beets are cooking, prepare the vinaigrette. In a small bowl, combine the cider vinegar, sugar, olive oil, and dry mustard. Whisk ingredients together with a fork.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

4.  Pour dressing over the beets and toss to evenly coat.  Set aside to marinate for a half hour at room temperature.