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    Home » Food Type » Side Dish

    Middle Eastern Pickled Turnips

    Jan 12, 2021 · Modified: Jun 2, 2021 by Lily · This post may contain affiliate links.

    Jump to Recipe·Print Recipe
    Middle Eastern pickled turnips

    Middle Eastern pickled turnips are so simple and easy to make at home. With just a few ingredients and a few days wait, these spicy pickled turnips taste way better than the store-bought pickled turnips. The spicy, salt and sour flavors all come together with the fresh crunch of the turnips. Eat these with hawawshi, sumac fried eggs, Egyptian ta'ameya, ful medames dip, or Lebanese falafel.

    pickled turnips in a bowl on the counter

    What I Love About This Recipe

    For one, these Middle eastern pickled turnips have some spice which has added flavor from the red chili peppers. Secondly, I like that the vinegar brine can be adjusted to your taste while making these pickled turnips.

    Ingredients Notes

    • Turnips: The main ingredient for this recipe is turnips. In fact, you can skip the cauliflower and carrots if you would like. I like the cauliflower and carrots for variety.
    whole turnips on the counter
    • Cauliflower: I use just a normal cauliflower head.
    • Carrots: I use regular size carrots, then peel and chop them.
    • Beet: We only need one beet for this recipe.
    • Spicy Red Pepper: Be careful when adding fresh red peppers, because the spicy level can be different. Fresno peppers are also a great red chili pepper to use.
    • Salt: I like using sea salt, however any type of salt will work. The quantity of salt will change depending on the type of salt used.
    • Sugar: I use regular white table sugar.
    • Vinegar: Distilled white vinegar is needed. Don't substitute any other type of vinegar. The amount of vinegar might need to be adjusted slightly depending on the size of the jar.
    • two red peppers on a countertop
    • carrots, beet, and a cauliflower head on the countertop

    How To Make Pickled Turnips

    Prepare the vegetables. Peel the carrots and turnips. Chop the turnips, carrots, and cauliflower into similar-sized pieces.

    Blend the spicy peppers and salt together using a food processor. Add the blended spicy peppers and salt to the sliced vegetables.

    • red peppers in a food processor with salt
    • red chili peppers blended in a food processor with salt

    Let vegetables sweat. Add 5 tablespoon of salt to the vegetables in a large bowl. Let the vegetables sit for about 2 hours. The vegetables will sweat. Don't discard the liquid.

    Add the vegetables and liquid to a large glass jar (or multiple jars). Add around 10 tablespoon of vinegar, 2 tablespoon sugar, and 5 tablespoon more salt.

    Pro Tip: Use a clean jar and lid to pickle the turnips. However, the jars do not have to be boiled like you would for shelf-stable preserving.

    Boil water. Completely cover the vegetables with boiling water. Taste the vinegar brine and adjust the salt and vinegar as needed.

    • chili peppers mixed with the vegetables
    • pickled turnips and vegetables in a jar

    Close the jar and keep it at room temperature for 4 days before eating. Once the turnips and vegetables have been pickled (after the 4 days at room temperature), store the jar in the fridge.

    Pro Tip: These pickled turnips are not shelf-stable and need to be stored in the fridge once the 4 day pickling process is completed.

    • pickled vegetables in a jar
      Day 1
    • pickled turnips in a jar after 4 days
      Day 4

    Equipment

    • Chef's knife and cutting board to chop the vegetables
    • Strainer to wash and drain the vegetables
    • Peeler to peel the carrots, beets, and turnips
    • Glass container (I use 2 large mason jars that are 10 cups each in size)

    FAQs

    Why are pickled turnips pink?

    Pickled turnips are pink because of the beetroot. After a few days of pickling, the vinegar salt brine, and pickled vegetables turn a light pink color.

    How long do pickled turnips last?

    Keep the pickled refrigerated for up to 1 month in the fridge (after pickling).

    How long does it take to pickle turnips?

    Pickled turnips take 4 days to pickle at room temperature. After 4 days, move the jar to the fridge.

    Eat Pickled Turnips With

    • Ta'amiya Fried Egyptian Falafel
    • Hawawshi - Egyptian Minced Meat Pitas
    • Mujadara Msufaye Lebanese Lentils and Rice
    • Egyptian Fried Eggplant With Tomato Sauce - Mesa'ah
    • Sumac Eggs
    • Lahm Bi Ajeen (Sfiha) Minced Meat Flatbread
    • Easy Lebanese Fried Falafel
    • Falafel Pita Bread Sandwich

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    pickled turnips

    Middle Eastern Pickled Turnips


    ★★★★★

    5 from 1 reviews

    • Author: Lily
    • Total Time: 30 minutes
    • Yield: 20 1x
    • Diet: Vegan
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    Description

    These spicy Middle Eastern pickled turnips are so easy. Made with cauliflower, carrots, and red spicy peppers, they are delicious.


    Ingredients

    Scale
    • 8 turnips
    • 8 whole carrots
    • ½ head of cauliflower
    • 1 small beet
    • 5 spicy large red peppers
    • 10 tbsp salt (sea salt) ** see notes
    • 2 tbsp sugar
    • 10 tbsp white vinegar ** see notes
    • boiling water (enough to cover the vegetables)

    Instructions

    1. Wash the vegetables.
    2. Peel and cut the turnips, carrots, and beet. Cut the cauliflower. Cut the stems off the spicy red pepper. Cut the spicy red pepper into thirds.
    3. In a food processor, blend the spicy red pepper and 5 tablespoon of salt.
    4. In a large bowl add all of the chopped vegetables and the blended spicy pepper. Mix the vegetables well. Allow the vegetables to sit at room temperature for 2 hours and sweat out the moisture. There will be a few cups of liquid at the bottom of the bowl.
    5. Add the vegetables into an airtight container or multiple airtight containers (I used 2 half-gallon size mason jars). Pour the liquid on top of the vegetables (that sweated out). Add 10 tablespoon (this is the total amount) of white vinegar. Add 5 tablespoon of salt.
    6. Boil water. Pour the boiling water into the jar fully covering the vegetables. Seal the jar and shake it. Open the jar and taste the liquid. Don't put the spoon back into the jar!
    7. Adjust the salt and vinegar depending on the vinegar brine taste.
    8. Seal the jar and keep it at room temperature for 4 days. After 4 days once the vegetables have pickled, move the jar to the fridge. Keep in the fridge for up to 1 month.

    Equipment

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    Cutting Board

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    Chef's Knife

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    Notes

    • Depending on the salt used for this recipe, the quantity will change. I used crystallized sea salt, however, if using iodized table salt, the quantity will be less. I recommend tasting the vinegar brine and adjusting.
    • Depending on the size of the jar, the amount of hot water and vinegar will change as well.
    • Prep Time: 30 minutes
    • Cook Time: 0 minutes
    • Category: Side Dish
    • Method: Pickling
    • Cuisine: Middle Eastern

    Nutrition

    • Serving Size: 1 cup
    • Calories: 52 calories
    • Sugar: 7 g
    • Sodium: 310 mg
    • Fat: 0 g
    • Saturated Fat: 0 g
    • Unsaturated Fat: 0 g
    • Trans Fat: 0 g
    • Carbohydrates: 10 g
    • Fiber: 3 g
    • Protein: 1 g
    • Cholesterol: 0 mg

    Keywords: Middle Eastern pickled turnips, spicy pickled turnips, pickled turnips, Quick pickled turnips, Middle eastern pickled turnips, easy pickled turnips, Arabic pickled turnips

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    About Lily

    Howdy! My name Lilian, but my friends call me Lily. I'm the founder and one of the recipe authors here at The Matbakh. I enjoy sunsets, long walks on the beach, meaningful relationships, and anything related to food. I'm so happy you are here!

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Sarah

      April 28, 2021 at 11:51 am

      These were crunchy, spicy, and delicious. It made a large amount, so I had to give some to the neighbors.

      ★★★★★

      Reply

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    Hi, I'm Lily!

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    I've been cooking things up ever since I was a kid. I'm a Lebanese American from Texas. My kitchen, or "matbakh", is a hodgepodge of delicious cultural recipes from the US and Mediterranean regions.

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