Cvikla s Chrenom - Beet and Horseradish Relish

Beet and Horseradish are two roots that make a great relish for the Slovak Easter ham (much like cranberry sauce with turkey for Thanksgiving). There is a similar relish used for the Passover lamb but it has a higher horseradish/beet ratio. It's best to start this recipe a couple days before serving so you have time to adjust the horseradish to taste. This recipe is really simple. You will need:

Beets (see below)
Horseradish (see below)
White vinegar
1 Tbsp. brown sugar
1/2 tsp. salt

(I apologize for my horrible photography skills. Please pretend this 

is a beautiful bowl of grated beet relish, not a steak or 

something/someone else that found its way through the wood chipper)

Beets: For an authentic taste, you will use 2 beets. Peel them, cut off the stem, chop into 2-inch cubes, and boil for 30-40 mins. Drain and finely grate or run through a food processor. Set aside. You can use 14 oz. pickled beets instead and skip the boiling process, but it won't taste quite as good as fresh beets.

Horseradish: The prevailing rule here is to add horseradish to taste. There are three ways to prepare the horseradish.

• The easiest is to buy a prepared minced horseradish in a jar. When using this kind, make sure you add about 1/2 cup horseradish for every 2 cups of beets. 

• A more authentic way is to zest raw horseradish root. Add 2 Tbsp. to the recipe, let sit overnight, then decide whether to add more. The potency of raw horseradish varies widely but you might want to add up to 3/4 cup for every 2 cups of beets.

• Finally, you can peel the horseradish root, boil it, then zest it or grate it in the food processor. This will mellow out the flavor a bit, so you will want about 1 cup horseradish per 2 cups beets.

Mix all the ingredients together with about 1-2 Tbsp. vinegar if you used pickled beets, and 1/3-2/3 cups if you used fresh beets. Cover and chill overnight. I recommend adding half the vinegar when you first make it, then add the rest a day later if it needs more. Serve with ham and deviled eggs and be sure not to stain your clothes.

Tvaroh - Soft Cheese Curds

Tvaroh tastes like a very mild quark cheese and has a consistency similar to quark. If you haven't had quark cheese, it's like a firm cottage cheese. Rarely eaten on its own, it's delicious as a filling for pastries and other desserts, or crumbled on french toast in the morning. If you have never made your own cheese before, this is a great place to start.

You will need:

Spoiled Milk
Cheese cloth (I used a handkerchief) and a strainer

That's it. This is really easy.

Not all kinds of milk work. Sometimes, heavily homogenized milk particles are too small for the straining process. I had the most success with organic whole milk. The higher the fat content, the more tvaroh will be rendered (1.5 cups per gallon of whole milk).

Let the milk spoil. You can do this by leaving it on the porch for a few days in the summer heat, or leaving it in the fridge for a couple months.

Now, boil the milk. Be careful, because it might boil over easily, but you want it thoroughly heated to kill any dangerous bacteria.

Let the milk cool or pour it warm into a strainer lined with the cheesecloth. It will take a while for all the whey to filter out. Close the cloth and wring it out. The tighter you wring it, the drier/firmer the cheese will be. Let cool and crumble or mix into other ingredients. This freezes well if you want to use smaller portions at a time.