Different ideas to use up extra garden produce
Today I felt like sharing my recipe for pickled beetroots. I’ve been playing around a lot with preserving food, as I occasionally run preserving workshops, for a company called Urban Harvest. They design and build organic vegetable gardens for homes, corporate businesses and most importantly, disadvantaged communities. They have a number of gardens at under-resourced schools, old-aged homes, homeless shelters and hospices. I do a little volunteering at their flagship garden, so when Ben asked me to do a couple of preserving workshops for his staff, I jumped at the chance! This really speaks to my heart, as I hate waste, and there are just so many awesome ways to use your extra produce.
Very simply, you can make herb salts or oils. Then there are things like pestos and sauces. You can make jams and chutneys, or cordials and curds. Granadilla cordial is one of my top favourite drinks to make.
Pickled beetroots or other vegetables are delicious
Pickling is a fantastic way of preserving many different foods, so that they can be enjoyed for a longer period of time. Pretty much any food group, such as meat, fish, eggs, fruit and dairy can be pickled. Historically, pickling was a very important way of preserving food for the winter. For us, this means that none of our garden produce goes to waste and can be enjoyed for some months after we picked it! To name but a few, pickled onions, pickled cucumbers, pickled courgettes and of course pickled beetroots are all delicious. Pickles add a delicious zinginess to sandwiches or salads. They are also great as a garnish to finish off a dish. Cut your beetroot slices into little cubes or matchsticks, and sprinkle over dishes for some colour and a pop of flavour.
A few tips on pickling and sterilising jars
There are two ways of pickling things. Either by anaerobic fermentation in brine (kimchi or sauerkraut), or by immersion in vinegar. We will be pickling our beetroot in vinegar. The beetroot could quite simply be pickled in plain vinegar with a little water. But, in order to make them a little but more flavoursome and exciting, I add a little sugar and various spices to the pickling solution. You can swop any of these spices out as you like. I like to have quite a few spices in my pickle. You can also add a couple of sliced shallots into your jar of pickled beetroots.
It’s important to make sure that when preserving, you store you food in sterilised jars. Sterilising will kill any unwanted bacteria and ensure the preserves last as long as possible. To sterilise, wash the jars well with soapy water. Then, bake in the oven for 10 minutes at 160°C. You can boil the lids for 15 minutes. Or, boil the jars and lids for 15 minutes in water (they must be submerged). Remove the jars with tongs, and place on a cloth. This is important, as if you put them on a cold surface they will crack! I prefer to boil my jars and lids, but sometimes the jars are too big, so then I bake them.
Pickled Beetroots
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Ingredients
- 8-10 beetroots
- 250ml red wine vinegar
- 250ml white wine vinegar
- 250ml water
- 100g sugar
- 15ml salt
- 15ml mustard seeds
- 10ml cumin
- 5ml peppercorns
- 15ml coriander seeds
- 10ml fennel seeds
- 2 bay leaves (1 per jar)
- 2 large sterilised jars
Instructions
- Cut the leaves off the beetroots and reserve for another dish. Wash the beetroot well.
- Place in a pot of cold water and bring to the boil. Simmer until the beetroots are just cooked. Test by poking in a knife – if it slides in easily, they are done.
- Drain the beetroot and place in cold water.
- Peel the beetroot by sliding the skin off with your fingers. To prevent your hands being stained, use gloves if you have.
- Cut into slices, and place them carefully into jars. They can be packed quite tightly.
- To make the pickle, toast all the spices in a dry pan.
- Place the vinegars, water, sugar, salt and spices in a pot. Turn on a low heat and stir until all the sugar has dissolved. Bring to the boil, simmer for two minutes and then remove from the heat.
- Pour the hot pickle over the beetroot, making sure all the beetroot is covered.
- Add a bay leaf to each jar. Close the jars and store in the fridge once cool.
- Let the pickled beetroots ‘infuse’ for about a week in the fridge, before trying them. They can be kept for 2-3 months.
