Ćwikła — homemade beet and horseradish relish

Scrub about 1 kg beets of similar size, leaving the skins and thin root tips intact. Put in a pot, add about 2.5 l water to cover and bring to a boil. Simmer gently with the lid slightly ajar for about 60–90 minutes, depending on size, until a small knife easily reaches the center. Top up the water if needed so the beets do not protrude. Do not add salt, vinegar or sugar to the water. Once cooked, pour off all the water; it is not part of the relish.

Set the cooked beets aside for about 15–20 minutes, until safe to handle. Remove the skins and cut off the tough ends. Weigh 800 g cooked, peeled flesh for the recipe; keep any extra for another dish. Cut larger beets in half and spread on a plate for about 40–60 minutes, until completely cooled. Keep skins, ends and cooking water outside the relish. Do not add horseradish to warm beets.

Finely grate all the weighed 800 g cold beets into a large bowl. Collect the juice released during grating and the flesh left on the grater too. Do not press through a sieve, do not drain and do not squeeze: the juice belongs to this measured amount of vegetables. The mixture should be fine and moist with a noticeable texture, not a completely smooth cream from a blender.

Wash and thinly peel a piece of fresh horseradish root, then weigh 60 g cleaned root. Grate very finely into a separate small bowl, preferably by an open window and without leaning your face over the grater. Immediately add all 30 g lemon juice and mix, scraping the horseradish from the grater. Use the entire prepared amount. Do not replace it with the same weight of jarred horseradish, which has a different root content and additives, and do not pour boiling water over the fresh horseradish.

Add all the horseradish and lemon juice, 15 g sugar and 3 g salt to the grated beets. Mix thoroughly, scraping down the bowl, until the seasonings are evenly distributed. Transfer everything to a clean lidded container or two clean jars holding about 1 liter in total. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, preferably 4 hours, to let the flavors combine. Do not heat and do not pasteurize this batch.

Briefly stir the relish before serving, mixing any released juice back in. Divide into twelve small side servings and serve chilled, without separate toppings, herbs or lemon slices. Keep the rest tightly sealed in the refrigerator and use within 3–4 days, serving with a clean spoon. The jar is only for refrigerated storage; do not put it in the pantry and do not assume that closing the lid makes it suitable for storage at room temperature.