Lesya 
Beet (beetroot) is a locally grown vegetable in Ukraine. No wonder there are so many recipes with beets in Ukrainian cuisine. You have probably heard about Ukrainian borscht – the sweet-sour soup that highlights the unique taste of beets. To make borscht, we roast the beets slightly and then boil them with other ingredients. Another example of how we use beets is the recipe for a vinaigrette or the Ukrainian beets spread (Sushy). Also, we can marinate raw beetroots and serve them as an appetizer or side dish.
Our marinated beets look and taste differently from other pickled beets. Instead of slicing the beetroot, we make noodles with the help of a spiral slicer. Also, we add additional ingredients to the marinade. The idea to add onion, garlic, and spices to the marinade came from the recipe for Korean pickled carrots – a well-known appetizer in Ukraine. We have twisted this recipe and replaced carrots with beets in anticipation that the same kind of marinade should work for beets too.
The curly beet noodles look more fun and can be used as a garnish! If you refrigerate these pickled beets for a day or two you will find that aging adds value not only to wine and cheese but to vegetables too.
If you are interested in learning more about Ukrainian dishes and traditional methods of preservation, please check out the Ukrainian Culinary Traditions webpage.
Marinated Beets
Equipment
- Starfrit Spiral Slicer Manual Spiralizer
- Chef's knife
Ingredients
- 4 big beetroots, washed and peeled
- 1 onion
- 5 garlic cloves
- 100 g apple cider vinegar
- 1 tspn dried coriander
- 1 tspn black pepper
- ⅓ tspn cayenne pepper
- ¾ tspn salt
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil for frying
Instructions
- Insert the washed and peeled beets into the manual spiralizer and turn the holder. This way you should be able to make curly beet noodles. Adjust the thickness of the noodles by selecting the fine spiral blade or standard (medium) spiral blade. (In our recipe, we used a fine spiral blade.)
- Place the noodles into a medium-sized bowl. Squeeze them with a hand to release some juice.
- Chop onions finely and grate the garlic.
- Preheat the frying pan, reduce the heat to medium and add vegetable oil. Add chopped onion and garlic and sauté until golden. Transfer them to the bowl with beet noodles.
- Add apple cider vinegar, salt, and spices to the beet noodles. Mix well all ingredients.
- Refrigerate for one day and serve cold.
What are the health benefits of beets?
The health benefits of beets have been known since Roman times. Beetroots are a great source of vitamin C, iron, folate, potassium, and antioxidants. While boiled and roasted beets still have these important vitamins and elements, raw beets have a greater positive impact on your health. You can either make juice from raw beets, make salads, or marinate them like we did in our recipe. Check out our recipe for Shuhy – Ukrainian Beet Spread too. In this recipe, we roast beets and use them as a spread.
How to serve marinated beets?
Marinated beets go well with smoked or salted salmon, meat, soft cheese (How to Make Homemade Cheese), or hard cheese. Please follow this link if you want to know How to make your own salmon. When combined with sour apples, they make a delicious salad. Get creative and use marinated curly beet noodles as a garnish for your salads or side dishes, or combine them with marinated carrots.
Thank you!
Thank you for visiting our website! Our recipe for marinated beets is an example of how you can make an unusual and healthy dish from a common vegetable, such as beetroot. Please add your comments if you like this recipe and visit our other pages. Eat nourishing, natural foods, and stay healthy and happy!
