We have spent the last few months playing around with the Japanese oroshigane graters. Our garlic, chilli and ginger stocks have all taken a hammering, but the ingredient we have most enjoyed rediscovering is fresh horseradish. We have come up with a basic homemade horseradish recipe which we promise will beat the pants off anything out of a jar. If you are putting the effort in with the beef, the roasties and the Yorkshires, go the extra mile with the condiments.
- 15g freshly grated horseradish. Soak this in 2 tbsp of hot water to soften the flavour
- 1 tbsp white wine vinegar (if you are feeling lazy - this is about equivalent to a "glug")
- pinch of English mustard powder
- pinch of caster sugar
- salt and pepper to taste
These are your basic flavour ingredients. Combine these together first, have a quick taste then fold in the cream to finish.
The amount of cream depends on how you will be using it and how strong you like the flavour. For a spoonable sauce, go for 150ml of lightly whipped double cream. If there is too much heat for your tastebuds and your nose starts to run, increase the cream. Creme fraiche works equally well, particularly if serving with fish, and is a bit lighter.
If you want to make a quenelle to sit on the side of smoked salmon or on top of your borscht, beat the cream a little stiffer. Similarly, if you would prefer a thinner sauce that you can drizzle on a smoked salmon salad or sliced bavette steak, keep the cream thinner and use sour cream to keep it lighter.
The horseradish-vinegar-mustard mix is also a fantastic base for a warm potato salad. Stick to sour cream - and consider half cream/half yogurt, to prevent a dairy overload. Add this to the other ingredients and combine with some halved and boiled new potatoes. Yummers.
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