When it comes to relish, you can’t beat beets

I was visiting in Alexandria, Va., a week or so ago, and my friend and hostess Shirley Cherkasky put this beet relish on the table for lunch one day. Instantly I thought this was a good one to share with you. It is very easy and really delicious. Shirley, who will be 80 her next birthday, grew up in Wisconsin, but has lived a very long time in the D.C. area and pulled this recipe out of her collection of political party fundraising cookbooks. I can’t remember whether it was a Democratic or Republican one, but I doubt there is anything partisan about beets.

I still have a few beets in the cellar that we pulled last fall, and they will be good for another month or so, then they begin to lose some of their charm. If we are smart we will eat them before they age to imperfection. The recipe calls for two cups of beets, but since beets don’t come in convenient one- or two-cup sizes, you may round it off to the nearest beet. If you dice the beets very small, say a quarter-inch or so, you will end up with a relish. You could consider cutting them a tad larger so that the whole mixture looks more like a beet salad. The combination of flavors is good either way. Just for the heck of it, I added some chopped apple to part of the mixture, and we liked it very much. You really have to make this in advance because the flavor needs a little time to develop.

Beet Relish

Yields about 2 cups.

2 cups diced cooked beets

1 small onion finely minced

2-3 tablespoons horseradish

1/4 cup cider vinegar

1 tablespoon sugar

Good dash of salt

Combine all ingredients and refrigerate. After a few hours, taste, and adjust seasonings.