Pickled Baby Beets

Ingredients
2 lbs baby beets
1/4 cup olive oil

4 oz light brown sugar
2 oz cider vinegar
2 oz sherry vinegar
1 oz champagne vinegar
1 chile de arbol
1 bay leaf
6 whole cloves
1 cinnamon stick
2 oz shallots, peeled and sliced thinly
6 oz orange juice, plus additional for topping up syrup
1 orange, sliced thinly across equator

Equipment
baking pan
foil
saucepan with lid
2 1-quart jars with lids

For the beets

1. Preheat oven 400F.
2. Wash beets well. Remove greens to within 1 inch of root, if necessary. Place beets in single layer in baking pan. Toss with oil to coat. Cover and seal with foil.
3. Roast for 1 hour or until beets offer no resistance to skewer.
4. Remove and cool without removing foil.
5. Peel beets by rubbing with paper towel. Discard skins.

For the syrup

1. Combine all ingredients except beets in saucepan. Bring to boil, reduce heat to simmer, partially covered for 5 minutes.
2. Strain syrup into heatproof measure. Add additional orange juice to equal 2 cups.
3. From syrup flavorings, remove cinnamon stick and chile and place in quart jars. Add a few beets to the jars, add slices of orange, then continue filling with beets. Pour hot syrup to fill. Seal and cool to room temperature. Chill.

Keeps for 2 weeks.