Kabis, Lebanese Pickled Turnips And Beets

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Kabis, Lebanese Pickled Turnips And Beets

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If you like pickles, you will like these ruby coloured turnips and beets. I add sugar because I really don't like them that sour in its typical vinegar, water and salt brine. It makes my lips pucker and I can feel a momentary brain freeze each time I put a pickle in my mouth.

Remember to prepare these 5 days before you intend to eat them.

My recent meze party. Click here to read more, Meze, A Selection of Wonderful Little Bites. See the plate of kabees? To find out the names of the meze I served and how to make them, scroll down to the bottom of this post.
KABIS, LEBANESE PICKLED TURNIPS AND BEETS     

Prep:	10 minutes
Cook:	-
Inactive:	5 days in the refrigerator
Level:	Easy
Makes:	6 cups
Oven Temperature:	-
Can recipe be doubled?	Yes
Make ahead?	Keeps well for 3 weeks refrigerated.

Ingredients

For the vegetables

200 g beets

700 g turnips

3 cloves garlic peeled and left whole

1 whole dried red chilli

For the pickling solution

3 and 1/2 cups distilled white vinegar with 5% acidity level

You need a proper ratio of vinegar to water to ensure proper pickling without the risk of contamination.

Vinegars have varying acidity levels. You need a vinegar with at least an acidity level of 5%. You could therefore substitute with apple cider vinegar which has the same acidity level. White wine vinegar has a higher acidity level but it would not be cost effective to use that.  

Rice vinegars have a lower acidity level, the brand that I use, Marukan,a Japanese brand, has an acidity level of 4.3%. It produces pickles that are not so sharp tasting.

If using a Rice Vinegar with a 4.3% acidity level you need: 3 and 1/2 cups of Rice Vinegar and 1 cup boiled water that has been cooled. A young man helped me with the math on this.

1 and 1/4 cup boiled water, cooled 

If you are using Rice Vinegar with an acidity level of 4.3% instead of Distilled White Vinegar with 5% acidity, you would need only 1 cup of boiled water.

1 and 1/2 cups sugar

I add sugar to mellow out the sharpness. I find it too tart with just vinegar and water.

1 and 1/2 Tablespoons salt

Do not use table salt or iodized salt as it will cloud the pickling liquid. Use pickling salt or if you cannot get that, use kosher or sea salt.

Method

Wash the turnips and beets. Top and tail and peel off the skins. 

Slice into pinkie finger size. Take a look at how I cut them in the photograph. Cutting it that size allows the pickling juices to penetrate easily and evenly. I like the waffle knife that I bought recently from Bangkok for USD1.20! Don't they look like french fries? I can't wait to use them to waffle cut something else. Maybe jello or something.

Dissolve the sugar and salt into the vinegar and water.

I will be using three jars ( two 4" [10cm] and one 7" [18 cm] ) for my pickles. Please clean your jars well before using. I wash mine with soapy water and finish off by pouring boiling water over them. I then let them drip and air dry.

Drop one clove of garlic into each jar. Snip the dried chilli into three and drop a piece into each jar. Distribute the turnips and beets into the three jars. Cover vegetables completely with the pickling solution. Leave a 1" (2.5 cm) gap between the pickling solution and the bottom of the lid. 

Wipe the jars clean, cover and refrigerate for 5 days.

These will only get more ruby coloured in the next few days. 

 They are ready to eat!

Tips

• These go well with grilled meats, falafel and as part of a meze. 
• Use in salads, sandwiches and cold noodles. I cut them further into thin rectangular slivers. If they are too tart and if I need to balance off the flavours in the salads, sandwiches or noodles, I add caster sugar directly onto the pickles after I have cut them into slivers.
• These pickles are not meant to be kept longer than 3 weeks. Therefore, I only make small quantities of them. I find them too sour and sharp for my taste after 3 weeks. Moreover, there is a mind boggling amount of literature on proper home canning to ensure food safety. I do have the correct recommended vinegar to water ratio in my recipe to prevent bacteria from breeding but just to be on the safe side, I keep my pickles only for 3 weeks. Remember to clean your jars well before using.

WHAT'S COMING UP NEXT?                                                 
Fresh Figs With Peppered Ricotta. Very simple and very good if you like figs but if you don't, I have alternatives!

To recap, this post is part of my series on Meze, A Selection of Wonderful Little Bites. 

First row:

Zaalouk - Moroccan Roasted Eggplants and Tomatoes; Kabis - Lebanese Pickled Turnips & Beets; Moroccan inspired Radish, Bell Peppers and Mint Salad; Flash Fried Sweet Mini Bell Peppers.

Second row:

Greek inspired Shrimp with Tomatoes and Feta; Hummus with Spiced Angus Beef Slices; Beef Kafta - Lebanese inspired Meatballs.

Third row:

Labneh - Lebanese Drained Yogurt Drizzled With Extra Virgin Olive Oil And Clover Honey; Moroccan inspired Roasted Green Bell Peppers and Tomatoes With Olives; Fresh Figs With Peppered Ricotta. 

Here are the recipes I have posted:

• Zaalouk, Roasted Eggplants and Peppers
• Flash Fried Sweet Mini Bell Peppers
• Labneh - Lebanese Drained Yogurt Drizzled With Extra Virgin Olive Oil And Clover Honey
• Greek inspired Shrimp With Tomatoes And Feta
• Kabis - Lebanese Pickled Turnips and Beets
• Fresh Figs With Peppered Ricotta
• Hummus with Spiced Angus Beef Slices
• Moroccan inspired Radish, Bell Peppers and Mint Salad
• Beef Kafta - Lebanese inspired Meatballs
• Moroccan inspired Roasted Green Bell Peppers With Tomatoes and Olives
• Moroccan inspired Wholemeal Round Loaf