Thursday, April 17, 2014

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.

4 comments:

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  2. Thanks for posting. My mother used to make this at Easter. I just made them and they are quite tasty.

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  4. Thank you so much for the easily understandable conversions from the original ways to todays Slovak-American ways. I am born in US from two Slovak parents who were also born here. Most of my siblings still carry on certain traditions at the holidays and this recipe will be done with boiled beets today to capture the true taste.

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