Pickled Beets

About three years ago Kevin and I were having dinner at Bacchus and I saw the combination of beets and goat cheese for the first time. I was curious, I knew I liked beets and LOVED goat cheese but hmmm... together? Needless to say after my first salad, I was pretty much hooked. It got to the point I'd request the salad anywhere I saw it... and I'd make sure they left the pesky salad greens back in the kitchen. JUST the beets and JUST the goat cheese por favor.
For whatever reason, beets intimidated the heck out of me. I was terrified to try and pickle them in my own kitchen. But when a bunch of beets arrived in our CSA last week, I had no choice. It was do or die time (and it did look like some died in the kitchen after making the beets thanks to all the red dye, but that's another story).
I needed an easy recipe with only a few ingredients, so I went to my trusty www.simplyrecipes.com to see what they might have for me. This is the recipe I came away with:
1 bunch (4 or 5) beets
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
Salt and pepper

Remove greens from beets. Cut beets to uniform sizes so they will cook evenly. Boil around 30 minutes or until done. (Alternatively, you can roast them by wrapping them whole in foil and cooking them in a 350°F oven for about an hour.) A fork easily inserted into the beet will tell you if the beets are done or not.
2 Drain the beets, rinsing them in cold water. Use your fingers to slip the peels off of the beets. The peels should come off easily. Discard the peels. Slice the beets.
3 Make the vinaigrette by combining the cider vinegar, sugar, olive oil, and dry mustard. Whisk ingredients together with a fork. The dry mustard will help to emulsify the vinaigrette. Adjust to taste. Add salt and pepper to taste. Combine beets and vinaigrette in a bowl and allow to marinate for a half hour at room temperature.
Serves four.

I've heard from several people you can save the beet greens and cook them with bacon fat but come on... I overcame my fear of cooking the beet, I think I'll save the greens for another day.
In case you're curious, Sawyer loves beets. She initially thought they were strawberries when she saw me mixing them in the bowl... imagine her surprise when she bit into a vinegary beet. But they are delicious and a perfect summer side dish. Enjoy!
Much love,
Mama Cucina