These babies are gonna be sooooo good after I get done with them.....Middle Eastern Pickled Turnips & Beets
4-6 fresh turnips
2 fresh beets
1/2 cup course salt or pickling salt
6 cups water
1 glass jar with a tight lid
Wash the turnips and beets really well, peel them and cut into thick slices. Put the slices in the glass jar with the salt and add the water until the liquid fills the jar. Give them a little stir and put the lid on the jar tightly. Stand the jar in a warm, sunny spot in your kitchen. I put mine in my sun room since there's lots of sun coming in that room. It will take about 2-3 weeks for the turnips and beets to really pickle. If you want to make them spicy, add a chopped up hot pepper to the mix.
4-6 fresh turnips
2 fresh beets
1/2 cup course salt or pickling salt
6 cups water
1 glass jar with a tight lid
Wash the turnips and beets really well, peel them and cut into thick slices. Put the slices in the glass jar with the salt and add the water until the liquid fills the jar. Give them a little stir and put the lid on the jar tightly. Stand the jar in a warm, sunny spot in your kitchen. I put mine in my sun room since there's lots of sun coming in that room. It will take about 2-3 weeks for the turnips and beets to really pickle. If you want to make them spicy, add a chopped up hot pepper to the mix.
You can slice the beets & turnips as thick as you'd like.
The beets have that beautiful zebra design in them. They are messy though be careful because they will stain your clothes & your hands.
The beets immediately start giving the mixture that amazing purple color which will continue to deepen as the days go by. We serve these as a side dish at many meals. I remember sneaking into the jar as a kid and stealing a few every time I could. They're addictive.
This picture makes these look a bit angelic.....don't you think?
When I go to a lebanese resto this is my favorite treat. I always ask to bring a lot of these.
ReplyDeleteYes Helene...me, too! Some homes use white vinegar in their recipes. It helps speed up the pickling but my family always just used salt and water.
ReplyDeleteThis looks like a must-try. I love pickled stuff.
ReplyDeleteVery interesting. After craving these and not being able to find them due to the lack of nearby Lebanese restaurants, I decided to learn how to make my own pickled turnips. I've been making myself a constant supply of the pickles using a vinegar based recipe (1/3 boiling water, 2/3 vinegar) that takes about a week and I've been happy with the results. Next time around, I'm definitely going to try your salt based method of pickling.
ReplyDeleteOne question though, you say to let the jar stand in a warm sunny spot. Wherever I read my initial recipe from kind of said the opposite of this. I told how the pickling jar should be kept in the refrigerator so bacteria doesn't grow. Ever have any problems leaving the jar out in the sun like this?
Salt keeps the bad bacteria from growing and lets the goods fermenty stuff grow. Like sauerkraut, kim chee, and other brined goodies.
ReplyDeletepickled turnips and shish is one of my favorites.
ReplyDelete