Pickled beetroot and beetroot salad

Pickled red beets (beetroots) can be served as a side dish with all kinds of meats, and also in salads, such as herring salad and the salad I have included a recipe for below. This is a slightly different variety from the one I posted earlier.

1 kilo red beets
600 ml white vinegar
150 g sugar
1/2 tbs caraway seeds
a few mustard seeds

Cook the beets with the skins on, in boiling water or bake in the oven, until al dente but not watery. Peel and cut into slices, about 1/2 cm thick. Commercially pickled beets are usually cut into waffled slices, but if you don't have a waffle slicer just cut them with a knife.

Layer into a sterilised jar and sprinkle caraway seeds between the layers.

Heat the sugar in the vinegar until melted, bring to the boil and pour over the beet slices. Sprinkle some mustard seeds on top and close the jars.

Allow to ripen for at least a couple of weeks. Should keep for several months if kept cool.


Beetroot salad:

2 green apples, peeled, cored and diced (1-2 cm)
250 g pickled red beets, diced (1-2 cm)
250 ml whipping cream

Pat the beet slices dry before dicing. Whip the cream to soft peaks and add the apple and beets. Chill.

Best if made a few hours before serving. Great with smoked meats, e.g. hangikjöt.

Here is another variety

Cooked, fermented shark – Hákarlsstappa

I have no idea whether people still use this recipe, but I am publishing it here as a historical curiosity.

The shark is fermented as instructed here.

Remove the skin from the shark piece. Cook in boiling water until firm and cooked through. Remove and allow the liquid to drip off over night. Cut into pieces and mash in a cooking pot. Add sour butter (I never said this was good) or stale tallow. Serve hot with potatoes, or cold as a topping for rye bread.