Recipes from your veg box: Beetroot Ferment

Into the New Year and I’ve firmly resolved to use up every scrap of my Local Greens veg bag throughout the changing seasons of 2022.  This includes the winter veg box staple of Beetroot.  Be it Chioggia candy-striped, golden, or (my favourite) the dark red globes that stain your fingers, all can be used in a delicious ferment. 

Fermenting tends to divide people into the converted and the yet-to-be converted.  My own initiation to ferment fervour came via a fabulous Sandor Katz (guru of fermentation) event run by London Food Link, back in 2019.  And there’s a growing body of evidence to show that fermenting food is all part of creating a Better Food system.  This Better Food Traders recipe will inspire you to enjoy your beetroot and benefit from this energy-free method of food preservation that’s great for your gut and downright delicious.

Building a sustainable and resilient food system means learning to love the food that comes with localised production and Better Food Traders wants to help you do just that.

Find your local Better Food Trader and be a part of building a Better Food system.

Ingredients

• Beetroot (as many as you want)
• Carrots (as many as you want)
• Sea salt
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled
• paprika
• cumin seeds
• nigella Seeds

Add your spice to taste. You can also add different spice combinations. Dill and bay leaves is another great combination.

Method

• Clean and sanitize your glass bottle.
• Shred the beetroot, carrots + garlic in a food processor or with a grater. Place in a large bowl and add paprika and seeds.
• Weigh your ingredients and work out 3% of the total weight – add this weight of sea salt to the mix.
• Stir, stir, stir until you have a watery vegetable mix.  You’re trying to extract the liquid from the vegetables to create a concentrated salt solution.
• Let it sit for 10 minutes.
• Add mix to your clean jars, pressing the veg down firmly until you’ve removed as much air as possible.
• Place something heavy on top of the mix inside the jar. The veg should be completely submerged, so top up with extra brine* if required.
• Place in a dark spot and check daily, burping the air out of the jar by opening the lid and closing it each day. Leave for around 5-13 days, depending on your taste preference.
• Keep your ready ferment in the fridge. It can last up to 2 months but that is up to you.
• * Brine is water + sea salt (add 3% of water weight)