Dark-Cherry Relish

RELISH: Drain canned cherries, reserving 3/4 cup of syrup. Set drained cherries aside. In 1-quart saucepan, combine reserved syrup and cornstarch until cornstarch dissolves. Add dried cherries and heat to boiling over medium heat, stirring constantly. Boil mixture 1 minute longer and remove from heat. In food processor fittted with chopping blade, pulse dried cherry mixture with drained canned cherries just until coarsely chopped. Add horseradish: pulse just until well mixed. Transfer cherry relish to jar or storage containers; cover and refrigerate. Keeps up to 1 week. Just before serving, spoon into serving glass. ***PREPARED FRESH HORSERADISH: Into large bowl, using a sharp metal grater, finely grate horseradish. Or slice horseradish crosswise then cut slices into quarters and process in food processor fitted with chopping blade until finely chopped and paste-like in consistency. Add vinegar and salt to grated horseradish; mix well. Transfer to clean jar; cover and store in the refrigerator. Although it keeps up to 3 months, it loses its pungency with storage. NOTES : Fresh horseradish pairs with sweet and tart cherries in this tast= y accompaniment for ham, rost duck or chicken. ***To make BEAT HORSERADISH, a favorite Eastern European condiment that i= s less pungent, prepare recipe as above in food processor but use as abov= e in food processor but use red-wine viengar and add 1 cup chopped or sli= ced cooked beets and process until well mixed. Recipe by: Country Living (February 1998) page 119 Posted to recipelu-digest by Nesb2@aol.com on Feb 8, 1998