A great side to almost any first course meal, or even as a snack between meals, these pickled red beets fit the bill.
Pickled red beets are a traditional Pennsylvania Dutch method of preserving summer abundance for winter enjoyment. While pickled beets do not retain the crispiness of fresh beets, they become creamy and soft after cooking, and they have a sweeter flavor than fresh beets.
Made by a friend and neighbor, this minimal sugar recipe retains more of the integrity of the chemical-free homegrown beets while still having a balance of the traditional sweet and sour flavor.
While we eschew all chemicals in our gardens at Pasture to Fork (and fields, for that matter), we're adamant about taking gardening a step further and are always seeking to build soil via minimal soil exposure, mulches, cover cropping and the like. Which is why we prefer the term beyond organic gardening.