Pickled Beets Redux

Back in 2010 I posted my go-to recipe for quick pickled beets. Well, this year with my first batch of local beets I decided to revamp the recipe. Why? Well, why not. Doing things the same way all the time can be boring, plus it's fun to play with your food.

Herb grilled chicken with pickled beet salad.
iPhone photo by Renato Ghio

Pickled Beets

Ingredients

• 1 bunch beets (4-5 beets)
• 1/2 Tablespoon honey
• 1/2 onion, thinly sliced
• 1 Tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1/4 cup cider vinegar
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.e
2. Scrub the beets and trim off the beet greens, leaving about 2-3 inches of stem still attached to the beet. This helps prevent the beets from "bleeding" when you cook them.
3. Tightly wrap the beets in foil, place on a cookie sheet and roast in the oven for 1 hour.
4. Remove beets from the oven and and allow them to cool.
5. Once cooled, easily peel off the skin of the beets with your hands. (You might want to wear gloves for this or just live with pink fingers.)
6. Once peeled, slice the beets into roughly equal-sized slices and place in a medium-sized bowl.
7. Add the sliced onions.
8. In the small bowl whisk together the vinegar, olive oil, honey, salt and pepper.
9. Pour the dressing over the beets and onions. Cover with a lid or plastic wrap and let it sit at room temperature for at least 20 minutes to allow the flavors to come together. Or put them in the fridge to let things marinate even longer.

Even though I tried a different method of pickling the beets, I stuck with my favorite way to serve them - with toasted walnuts and crumbled blue cheese.

In the end, I think both recipes yield a nice pickled beet. What do you think?