Recipes / Sides
South African beetroot salad
Boiled beetroot and sliced onion soaked in a warm sweet and sour vinegar dressing. A make-ahead side that keeps for days.
- CoalsGas
- No fire needed
- Prep
- 20 min
- On the fire
- 55 min
- Plan ahead
- 2 hours chilling, or overnight
- Serves
- 6
Ingredients
Dressing
Method
- Cut the leaves off the beetroot, leaving 2 cm (1 inch) of stalk. Leave the skins and root tails on so the colour stays in.
- Put the beetroot in a large pot, cover with water and bring to the boil on the stove. Simmer for 40 to 60 minutes, depending on size.
- Test with a skewer. When it slides into the largest beetroot with no resistance, drain them.
- Cover the beetroot with cold water and leave for 10 minutes. Rub the skins off with your hands, wearing gloves if you do not want stained fingers.
- Trim the tops and tails, then cut the beetroot into 1 cm (1/2 inch) cubes or thin slices. Put it in a bowl with the sliced onion.
- Heat the vinegar, water, sugar, salt, pepper and cloves in a small pot, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Boil for 2 minutes.
- Pour the hot dressing over the beetroot and onion and stir. Leave to cool, then cover and chill for at least 2 hours.
- Stir before serving and scatter the parsley over the top.
Done when: the beetroot is tender all the way through, the onion has turned pink and soft, and the dressing tastes sweet and sharp in balance.
Tips
- To save an hour, use vacuum-packed cooked beetroot from the supermarket. Skip the boiling and start from cutting.
- Grated beetroot is the other common version. Grate the cooked beetroot coarsely and use half the onion.
- It keeps for up to a week in a closed container in the fridge, and the flavour gets better after the first day.
Beetroot salad is on almost every South African braai table and at most family lunches. The vinegar and sugar dressing comes from the old Cape habit of pickling vegetables to make them last, and many households still keep a jar in the fridge. It needs no fire, can be made days ahead, and its sharpness cuts through fatty meat. It sits well beside three-bean salad, another make-ahead side.