Pickled Turnip
pickled turnip with beetroot
Pickled turnip is a favourite side dish on any table in Egypt. Pickles are served with just about every meal over there; breakfast, lunch and dinner. They’re also wonderful popped into a kebab or a falafel sandwich, much as you would have a gherkin in a burger.
Pickled turnip is my personal favourite. It is salty and vinegary and the most beautiful vibrant cerise imaginable, adding colour to your table as a bonus.
Pickled Turnip is just the most beautiful pickle ever
Until you’ve tasted them, the idea of making pickled turnip doesn’t necessarily fill you with inspiration. But then you see them, and they literally scream at you. “Look at me, look at me! Aren’t I just the most beautiful thing on this table! You have to eat me. You know you want me! I’m here Look at me! You know you want me. Eat me!!!
Ok, I know that sounds totally over the top. But they are simply the MOST beautiful pickles ever. The vivid, almost fluorescent, Barbie pink is a result of the secret ingredient, beetroot. And as a result, they do just scream for attention.
If Pickled Turnip was to have a profession it would be as a Los Vegas Showgirl!
Even if it were just for the decorative factor, they would be a great addition to a mezze table. Small saucers of pickled turnip dotted around on a table, adds such a colourful impact. They just look spectacular.
Fortunately Pickled Turnip tastes great too
Luckily, they also taste amazing. The flesh of the young turnips is sweet, and this is then complimented by a slightly sweet pickling brine.
This recipe makes enough for about a litre and will keep in the fridge for up to 2-3 months.
Is it a swede or is it a turnip?
*I know as a child there was always discussion in our house as to what was a turnip and what was a swede, as different parts of the country call them by different names. So let me clarify; the turnips I’m talking about are the small white ones. Swedes are the big golden ones.
Small and sweet please
In my opinion, the turnips you use for this recipe need to be the smaller, baby ones because the flesh of the more mature turnips tends to be tougher and not so sweet.
Ingredients
- 6 turnips peeled and cut in half and sliced into half moons1/2” thick
- 1 beetroot peeled and cut into matchsticks
- 1 tsp citric acid (lemon salt)
- 2 garlic cloves – grated
- white vinegar for pickling
for the brine
- 1 pint water
- 3 tbsp sea salt
Method
Sterilise jars ready for your turnip.
Mix the turnip, beetroot, citric acid and garlic together in a large bowl.
Fill the sterilized jars to the top with the turnip and beet.
Pour the white vinegar over the vegetables until the jar is about 1/3 full.
Make the brine, by dissolving the salt in the water. Then use it to fill the jars to the top.
The jars will then need to be topped up completely with brine.
Leave your pickled turnip for one week before eating
Screw the lids tightly onto the jars and leave at medium room temperature for a week before eating.
Your beautiful, pickled turnip will last for up to 3 months in the fridge – but I very much doubt it will hang around that long.
I hope you’ll enjoy trying this recipe.
Let me know what you think. I love hearing from you.