Slovak Foods Recipes

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 go...

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 k...