Beetroot Pickled Turnips

Pickled vegetables are always present on a Middle Eastern table. Olives, green chillies and turnips are most common but small eggplants, cucumbers and cauliflower are also popular. Beetroot pickled turnips, traditionally stained bright pink with beetroot juice, are the most distinctive – though commercial ones are usually artificially coloured these days. The good news is they’re easy to make and keep for a month in the fridge. If turnips are unavailable, use swedes instead, they are slightly creamy-coloured rather than pure white, but taste very similar, especially once they’re pickled. My sister’s Lebanese mother-in-law, Teta as everyone affectionately called her, was a wonderful cook and thrifty housekeeper, she used the liquid leftover from canned beetroot to colour her pickled turnips and they were delicious!

Makes about 2 cups