richard Delia prefers to bake rather than boil her beetroots and then pickle them in red wine vinegar rather than the more usual malt. This, she told me over a Cherry Bakewell, goes to make a milder more beetrooty pickle.
Preparation time: 20-30 minutes
Cooking time: 2-3 hours
Skill level: easy
Ingredients
- fresh raw beetroot – 450g
- red wine vinegar – 175 ml
- 2 shallots
- peppercorns – ½ tsp
- fine sea salt – ½ tsp
Pre-heat your oven to gas mark 5 (190C)
Top and tail the beetroot, wipe away any soil with a damp cloth and wrap up together in foil. Place on a baking sheet and roast in the oven for 2-3 hours or until tender when stabbed with a skewer.
Peel when cool enough to handle and cut into thin slices.
Peel and thinly slice the shallots.
Pour the vinegar into a saucepan, add the peppercorns and salt and bring to a simmer.
Delia pays us a visit at Yumblog Towers
Layer the beetroot and shallots into a sterilised* (500 ml) jar and pour over the vinegar.
Seal immediately.
When cool, add a pretty label.
Delia’s Pickled Beetroot with Shallots will be ready to eat after 2 days.
* Wash the jar(s) in warm soapy water, rinse and place in a moderate oven for 5 minutes.
Verdict: The red wine vinegar gives this pickle a milder flavour than the shop-bought stuff. Very tasty indeed, Delia.
Drink: K4e with UHT milk and (French) sugar lumps.
Entertainment: Jon Holmes on 6Music. Two texts read out for Blogger-R, one for Blogger-D.
Look stop feeding my Delia fantasies will you.
Hi Tony
I didn’t realise you had fantasies about Delia … I had you down as more of a Fanny man.
R
I will never realise why anyone can resist Delia’s charms. I have a beautiful video clip from the early eighties where she interviews Kate Bush about ‘vegetarianism’, and mentions ‘soy sauce’, ‘olive oil’ and ‘sunflower seeds’, all of which can be obtained from your nearest health shop. Oh, how times have changed…
Hi Mimsy
We here at Yumblog Plc take our responsibilities as a corporate citizen seriously and like to think of ourselves as more than just an employer. We aim to create an nurturing working environment in which everyone, irrespective of nationality, culture, ethnicity, class, creed, age or stupidity, can dare to dream to touch the stars and strive to reach their full career path potential. It is this attitude which year-on-year has enabled Yumblog Plc to consistently deliver leading-edge blue-sky solutions to our ever growing portfolio of clients.
However, just like any loving family unit, we here at Yumblog Plc can sometimes hold different and occasionally conflicting opinions. For instance, like you Mimsy, I personally have a fondness for Delia born of a mixture of nostalgia and a weird sexual allure. My co-blogger on the other hand is less enamoured of Mrs Smith as hinted at in this quote from a previous post: “I find her to be a deeply-patronising humourless example of the worst of Middle England Daily Mail unpleasantness and I absolutely refuse to use her recipes or watch her witchy face on television.”
Horses for courses
Best
R
I have made Delia’s beetroot with shallots but the beetroot is not covered with vinegar,should I cover the beetroot with vinegar
Hi Nora
Yep, the beetroot needs to be completely covered by the pickling solution.
Best
R
Do you serve out pickling vinegar ingredients before adding to beetroot? Eg cloves etc
Hi Elizabeth, either would do. Leaving them it would give you a stronger flavour. Best, Richard.