Fermented Turnip Pickles – For Falafel and Shawarma

Have you ever had a shawarma or falafel plate with those delicious purple pickles? They are actually fermented turnip pickles. Making homemade lacto fermented pickled turnips is so quick and easy.

They are a perfect condiment for adding a bit of pizzazz to all sorts of dishes:

• Falafels
• Shawarma
• Gyros
• Tacos
• salad

Fermented Turnip Pickles

★★★★★

5 from 1 reviews

Looking for a classic fermented turnip pickle that is perfect for shawarma or falafels? This quick and simple recipe is delicious and probiotic! The bright pink colour comes from the addition of beets.

• Author: Emillie
• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Total Time: 10 minutes
• Yield: 1 quart jar 1x
• Category: Pickles
• Method: Fermented
• Cuisine: Middle Eastern

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 2 cups of turnips (about 5 small or 3 large)
• 1 small beet
• 1 clove of garlic
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tsp salt (non-iodized)
• 1/4 cup starter (see notes)
• 2 cups filtered water, to cover (chlorine free)

Instructions

1. Peel the turnips and beet and cut into thin, bite-sized sticks. If you are using fresh, young turnips and beets, then they don’t need to be peeled.
2. Pack the vegetables, garlic and bay into a sterilized quart jar.
3. Dissolve the salt in 1/2 cup of water, pour over the vegetables with the starter. Add more water to make sure the vegetables are covered.
4. Use a weight to keep the vegetables submerged, top with a lid, and allow to ferment somewhere cool for 1 week.
5. Store in the fridge and consume within 1 month.

Notes

• If you are using fresh, organic vegetables then you don’t need a starter. Otherwise, use kefir whey, sauerkraut juice or a purchased vegetable starter (affiliate link) to kick start this ferment.
• In the spring you can find fresh, little salad turnips, which don’t need to be peeled. However, storage turnips have a thick skin that needs to be removed.
• Turnips really like to float, so use a well-fitted weight to keep them below the brine, even if you are using a fido jar (affiliate link.)

Keywords: pink, turnip pickles, gyro, shawarma, falafel, Turkish, Greek, Lebanese, spring, summer, fall, probiotic