Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Красный Хрен - Red Horseradish

Though the first few nights of passover have passed, I wanted to share my recipe for Красный Хрен (red horseradish), a traditional condiment for gefilte fish and a staple for many passover meals.
I opened up the garden last weekend and my one harvest so far has been an over wintered horseradish root that was dug up for the express purpose of making a few jars of this tasty condiment.
Красный Хрен - Red Horseradish
1 horseradish root, washed, peeled and diced (or grated)
2 medium beets, peeled and boiled or roasted and diced (or grated)
4-6 oz white vinegar (enough to be absorbed in the mixture but not so much that it is swimming in it)
2-3 tsp sugar
salt & pepper to taste (if desired)
Directions:
Using a food processor or hand grater finely grate or dice the horseradish. Add the grated beets to the horseradish (to ensure there is a good amount of heat let the horseradish sit in a covered container for a few minutes before the beets are added). Mix thoroughly and add a few teaspoons of sugar. Taste and adjust to desired heat or sweetness.  Add enough vinegar to absorb into the mixture, and mix very well. Transfer to jars, cover tightly, and store in the refrigerator until needed.
That is it. I wouldn't make this too far in advance as the horseradish will lose it's heat and intensity over time. For a more intense flavor use more horseradish and less of everything else! The lack of exact measurements in this recipe should serve as a general guide. The key to a good horseradish (red or white)  is to bring out the intensity of the horseradish without drowning it in vinegar. The recipe here yielded about 2 1/2 cups of red horseradish goodness.

Be sure to also check out my directions for making a traditional (white) horseradish.

3 comments:

Shaheen said...

This sounds lovely, but as you know I am a veg head. Would else do you think it would go with, should I ever find fresh horseradish to make it.

Fred said...

Shaheen - Gail (my fiance) is a recovering vegetarian, and loves this on grilled vegetables or grilled veggie sandwiches. I really enjoy it with potato and carrots as well. It has a nice balance of sweetness and nostril clearing intensity.
I would imagine it would be a fun condiment to try with falafel as well.
If you do experiment, let me know!

Sari said...

My Pesach favorite! Whenever I go into the city I pick up a jar. Thanks for posting such an easy recipe that I can follow. I actually have a huge jar in the fridge of horseradish roots. Now I know what to do with it :)