I’ve gone for beetroot and onions (well, shallots). Shallots because they’re a classic and beetroot because I love it! So for today I’ll start with the shallots which I’m going to pickle in a classic vinegar, spice and sugar method. However, rather than using malt vinegar alone I’m going for a 50 50 mix of cider and malt, partly because I’m a big cider vinegar fan and partly because cider vinegar is something I should be able to produce myself in the near future and this very much appeals to my self sufficient side.
To get started I topped, tailed and peeled my shallots and left them in a bowl with salt sprinkled over in the fridge for 12 hours. This should lift some of the outer skins a little and allow the vinegar to penetrate.
For the pickling spice I have used:
1 tbsp Mustard Seeds
1 tbsp Black Peppercorns
1 tbsp Cloves
1 tbsp Coriander Seeds
1 tbsp Juniper Berries
1 tbsp of Dried Chilli Flakes
Half a tbsp Ground Mace
Half a tbsp Ground Ginger
1 Cinnamon Stick
12 Bay Leaves
I lightly toasted the coriander, mustard and peppercorns and gently cracked them under a plate before adding them to the rest of the spice mix. This should make enough spice mix for my 2 recipes. I placed a little of the spice mix in the bottom of a sterile jar, added half the shallots, sprinkled more spice mix over the top, added the rest of the shallots and sprinkled again more spice mix on. I threw in a couple of pinches of the salt that the onions had been sat in and any juice that had been extracted in the salting.
Finally, I mixed a teaspoon of caster sugar up with my vinegars and poured them over the top in stages, tapping and shaking the jar about to get as many air pockets out as possible. I filled the jar right to the top and carefully laid a cover of cling film in there as well as a security measure in case the seal on the jar fails.
Looking forward to trying these in about 2 months time when we’ll be moved into our new house!
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