Beetroot Relish

Beetroot Relish

 

• 500g beetroot, roasted* instructions below
• 1 tablespoon oil
• 1 teaspoon yellow mustard seeds
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 tablespoon oil
• 3/4 cup-1 cup white or brown sugar
• 3/4 cup water
• 1/4 teaspoon allspice
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 4 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 2 teaspoons salt

Step 1 - To roast beetroot, wash the beetroot and place in a cast iron pot or a pot with a lid. Drizzle with oil and roll them in the oil to coat and then bake for 1 hour to 1.5 hours (depending on the size of the beetroot). I sometimes leave them in the oven overnight to cool and then peel the skin off the next morning when they're while wearing gloves to stop my fingers staining. Chop the peeled beetroot into quarters and process in a food processor until you get a rough, grated texture. You can also start with raw beetroot and grate it although the cooking time on the stove top will be a bit longer.

Step 2 - Heat a saucepan on medium to high heat and without adding any oil, add the mustard seeds. They will start to pop. Turn the heat down to medium, add the oil and chopped onion and fry the onion with the mustard seeds until translucent. Add the sugar, water, allspice, cinnamon, vinegar, salt and beetroot and stir to combine. This will cook quite quickly in about 15-20 minutes as the beetroot is already roasted. If you're cooking with raw, grated beetroot, check on the texture and it may need maybe 30-40 minutes. Simmer with the lid off to drain any excess liquid (you can keep a little syrup in it if you want).

Step 3 - To place in preserving jars, preheat oven to 180C/350F. Place jars and heatproof lid in the oven for 10 minutes. Carefully remove and ladle the relish into the jars while still hot. Carefully using oven mitts or thick tea towels, place the lid on very tightly and upturn the jars for 10 minutes. Then turn right side up and press down on the "bubble" on the lid and the seal should depress.

 

Courtesy of recipe is by ''Not Quite Nigella''

 

Beetroot is my most loved vegetable of all, my Mum's kitchen always had some fresh beetroot. She used to cook soups, make salads, beetroot pickles and preserves.

Unfortunately my lovely husband dislikes beetroot so bad, that he can't stand the look or taste of it at all. So I do cook my poor beetroots most of the time when Jason is away on business trips. I have tried before to make some cold beetroot soup- Lithuanian traditional summer soup called Saltibarsciai. But once he saw the colour of the soup he was so scared even to come closer to the pot! He was asking me: Why this soup is Pink?! :) So after some few attempts to make him eat beetroot I gave up.

Today I do share this delicious recipe with those who love and eat beetroot :) We have grown some beets in our garden this year, so I have decided to make some pickles for the Winter time. Beetroot Relish is perfect with some  cheese or as a complimentary side dish to some cold deli meats. Enjoy!

 

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