Fresh Pickled Beet Salad

You have to know that beets are good for you when you consider their amazing colour.  Full of cancer fighting antioxidants, (betacyanin is the great fuschia colour responsible for this), and incredible flavour, a simple pickled beet salad is a great addition to any summer meal.  

Ingredients:

2 lbs of medium sized beets

1 medium red onion cut in half and sliced thinly

1 cup of white wine vinegar

1/3 cup of water

1/3 cup of white sugar

1 tsp of kosher salt

Trim stems of beets and leave root.  Cover with cold water in a pot and boil for 25-30 minutes, until tender.  Drain, cool, peel and slice into rounds.  Combine vinegar, water, sugar and salt in a saucepan and bring to a boil until dissolved.  Pour hot over beets and onion slices, and refrigerate.  The flavour gets better with time, so let this marinate in the fridge overnight.  Garnish beet salad with chopped fresh basil or flat leaf parsley when serving, if only because the complimentary colours will make your eyes zing!