Easy pickled beetroot

Give your liver some love with this easy pickled beetroot recipe, which can be eaten on the daily as a delicious addition to your salad, or on the side of your favourite meal.

Pickled beetroot and Chinese medicine

In Chinese medicine, foods with sour flavours, such as vinegar and pickled vegetables, are traditionally eaten to both calm and help clear stagnation from the liver. A stagnant liver is believed to generate an excess of heat which can interfere with the body’s natural detoxification processes. According to Chinese medicine, beetroot is also particularly helpful for stimulating a stagnant and sluggish liver, so pickled + beetroot = one happy liver!

Top tips for pickling beetroot

Here are some simple tips to perfect your pickling process:

• Remove rubber seals before you sterilise your jar.
• Wash your beetroot gently with a toothbrush to remove all the dirt without breaking the skin
• Test your beetroot is cooked through by inserting a skewer or small knife before slicing. Soft, well-cooked beetroot will pickle more easily.
• Remove beetroot skin while it’s still hot, and place warm beetroot in the jar with the hot vinegar mixture for maximum sealing and pickling.
• Make sure to fill the jar as close to the top as you can, as the pickled beetroot will keep for longer.

Ingredients

• 1 large sterilised jar with lid
• 2 large beetroots 
• ¾ cup filtered or spring water
• 1½ cups white wine vinegar
• ¾ cup raw sugar
• 1 bay leaf
• ½ teaspoon peppercorns
• ½ teaspoon mustard seeds
• ½ teaspoon coriander seeds
• ¼ teaspoon salt

Instructions

1. Sterilise a clean jar and lid by placing in a large saucepan of boiling water for 10 minutes. Remove from water and place aside to dry on a clean tea towel.
2. Wash beetroot, then place into a saucepan and cover in cold water. Bring to the boil and then cook on a medium heat for 30 minutes, or until tender. 
3. Remove beetroot from the saucepan and run under cold water, removing the skin by hand which should come away easily. 
4. Cut the beetroot into slices, strips or cubes.
5. Place filtered water, white wine vinegar, raw sugar, all herbs and salt into a saucepan and bring to the boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
6. Place beetroot into the sterilised jar until the jar is full, then top with vinegar mixture.
7. Close the jar and place into the fridge overnight to be enjoyed from the following day.