In a medium pot, add the beets and cover them with water. Bring to a boil and cook for about 1 hour or until they can easily be pierced with a knife. If you're short on time, you can use canned beets which don't require any cooking. I peeled the beets before cooking, as it's much easier than peeling them once boiled.
While the beets are cooking, prepare another pot for the potatoes and carrots. Add them to the pot and boil for about 30 minutes, or until you can smoothly pierce the potatoes with a knife. Be careful not to overcook them, as you want them to hold their shape.
Once the beets, potatoes, and carrots are cooked, drain them and let them cool. You can refrigerate them or simply let them sit at room temperature until they cool down.
Next, peel the skins from the potatoes, beets, and carrots. After peeling, dice the pickles, beets, potatoes, and carrots into bite-sized pieces. Finely chop the onion and set the diced beets in a separate bowl.
To avoid staining the other ingredients, mix the diced beets with the first tablespoon of sunflower oil separately. This step helps keep the vibrant color of the beets from bleeding into the rest of the salad.
Now, combine the beets with the remaining ingredients: the second tablespoon of sunflower or olive oil, white vinegar, diced potatoes, carrots, pickles, and chopped onion. Mix well until everything is coated.
If you like, you can adjust the flavor by adding more sauerkraut or pickles to taste. This salad can be a bit flexible based on your preferences!
Finally, cover the salad and refrigerate it until you're ready to serve. This allows the flavors to meld beautifully.
