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Pink pickle spreads mealtime sparkle By Sarah Lemon Updated: Feb 16, 2022 09:53 AM A A If winter seems a season for spindly veggies, check your grocer’s produce section again. Fennel, the focus of my most recent food section column , has buxom, beguiling bulbs sprouting slender stalks. Corpulent cabbages can tip the scales at close to 5 pounds apiece, as I bragged in a November post . And among my most recent purchases was a nearly 2-pound turnip. A root that large will keep my family in slaws and shredded turnip for topping tacos and rice bowls for nearly two weeks. That is, unless I consign the entire thing to a batch of quick pickles, which my 5-year-old son will almost single-handedly consume in a sitting. This recipe also incorporates a beet, which may entice my partner, typically not a turnip fan. Playing second string to the turnip here, the beet does color the entire batch a gorgeous hot pink to enliven the most drab winter menus. Tribune News Service photo Middle Eastern-Style Pickled Turnips 1 cup white distilled vinegar 1/3 cup kosher salt 1 tablespoon sugar 2 garlic cloves, lightly crushed and peeled 2 bay leaves 1 jalapeno, serrano or Fresno chile, cut in half or into 1/4-inch rings (optional) 2 pounds turnips, trimmed, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch square sticks, bite-sized chunks or 1/2-inch thick half circles 1 beet, trimmed, peeled and cut same as turnips To make brine: Combine in a heavy-bottomed saucepan 3 cups water with the white vinegar, kosher salt and sugar. Heat over high flame, stirring occasionally, until salt is completely dissolved, for about 4 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool. Place the crushed garlic, bay leaves and optional chile in bottom of a large canning jar (or divide between 2 smaller jars). Add the trimmed, cut turnips and beet. Pour brine into jars, covering vegetables completely and coming to 1/2 inch below top. Screw lids tightly onto jars. Place jars in a cool, dry place for 5 to 7 days. When ready to eat, store in refrigerator for up to one month. Makes about 2 1/2 pounds.