Horseradish

Horseradish is incredibly easy to grow. Tough, low maintenance, very rewarding. Leave just a piece of root in the ground after harvesting, and it grows back with a vengeance.

When it dies back in autumn/winter, dig up a root (or however many you are brave enough to tackle in one go). Wash it.

Scrape the skin off with a knife or the edge of a spoon.

Grate. Now that is the 'fun' part. You hear about the fumes of the horseradish when grating. Well, it's true. It is STRONG stuff! It starts harmlessly enough, but suddenly you get hit by the fumes and your sinuses clear, your tear ducts get incredibly busy. So, do proceed with caution. You have been warned. Oh, I am talking about grating by hand - if you have a food processor, it might be easier. But do open the lid very slowly, carefully and away from your face.

Now the basic recipe:
1/2 cup of grated horseradish
3 tbsp (white wine) vinegar
1/2 tsp salt

Mix together.
Put in a clean (sterilised) jar, keep in fridge. Should keep for about 4-6 weeks. I have read somewhere that you can freeze it, too.
Be very careful when tasting this batch. Start with a tiny amount, just to taste how potent it is. Enjoy!

2 comments:

Robyn Sinclair said...

i thought I had accidently weeded ours out this spring, but it's back again and I look forward to trying to do something with it this Autumn. I like it with fresh salmon, not eating meat, it's hard to find something else to enjoy it with. But I always enjoy your blog!

Veggie Gnome said...

Hi Robyn, nice to see you here! :)
Try the beetroot & potato bake recipe on The Mad Gnomes. It uses horseradish, too.

I also like horseradish with eggs. Slice of nice bread, spread some horseradish cream on top, then slices of boiled eggs (or scrambled eggs), fresh chives or parsley.

It's great mixed with cream, then with some smoked salmon. Hope you'll have fun in autumn! :)

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