Like climbing from a hot spring and rolling naked in the snow, I get much pleasure from eating scorching-hot food when I am frozen to the core. When I say hot, I am not talking solely of temperature, but of the effect of those culinary bringers of heat – from wasabi to ripe chillies, yellow mustard and thick, woody roots of ivory horseradish. A sweet, onion-based casserole of meat or vegetables can get a last-minute stirring of grated horseradish, just as mashed potato gets whipped up with mustard, and wasabi is capable of endowing even mayonnaise with a sweat‑inducing glow.
Horseradish, the crisp ivory root that grows like topsy in garden and grass verge alike, is invariably treated as a one‑trick pony, inevitably lumped with roast beef or smoked fish. It deserves more.
Broad-minded greengrocers aside, it is getting difficult to buy a root of horseradish. Supermarkets rarely stock it, and farmers' markets are a less successful hunting ground than you might expect. Ready to dig from October onwards, it can be left in the ground to tug out as you need (I dug some from a garden in the north of England last week) and will store well in a plastic bag or damp newspaper in the bottom of the fridge.
The ready-grated stuff in jars can be useful, but it lacks the true raging heat of a freshly prepared root. And too often it comes as a sauce, mixed with cream and ready to dab on our plates. It can also contain milk powder, modified starch, dried egg, mustard flour, titanium dioxide and xanthan gum. Others delight in being little more than horseradish root, sunflower oil, cream and seasoning. Be sure to take your glasses with you.
Nothing takes hold of a garden like horseradish, sending its long tapering roots deep down into the ground then throttling everything that gets in its path. I saw a hedge of it in a Chiswick allotment last autumn. Problems arise because it takes strength and patience to remove a single root intact, and even the smallest piece left in the ground can form a thicket within a year or two. You can tame it in a bucket, like mint, if you don't mind a bent end.
The other most common bringer of heat into our traditional winter meals is mustard. I often use them both in the same dish, as the horseradish brings pure clean heat, the mustard lends a richer aromatic note. Both like beef and mackerel, and are at their happiest in the presence of beetroot or potato.
A cool winter-salad idea involves thick chips of baked beetroot, cut like chunky French fries, tossed with slices of sweet orange, whole parsley leaves and a dressing of walnut oil, lemon juice, mustard and very finely grated horseradish. I sometimes put a pinch into the crème fraîche I use to perk up a bowl of Schiaparelli-pink beetroot soup.
Horseradish and mustard love potatoes. I sometimes add a spoonful to a gratin or serve shallow-fried potatoes with a little grated horseradish root. Another good winter wheeze is a hot vegetable salad of roasted parsnips and beets with a horseradish and parsley dressing. It combines the earthy tones of our winter roots with the wake-up call of the two hot seasonings. Of course nothing improves the flavour of a root of horseradish like a good cold snap. Though how you get it out of the frozen ground is anybody's guess.
Email Nigel at nigel.slater@observer.co.uk or visit guardian.co.uk/profile/nigelslater for all his recipes in one place
MEATBALLS WITH MUSTARD AND HORSERADISH
Serves 4
1 medium onion
1 thin slice of butter
6 juniper berries
90g fresh white breadcrumbs
3 tsp grated horseradish root
2 heaped tsp grain mustard
800g lean minced beef
1 egg yolk
1 small bunch dill, chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
350ml beef stock
150ml soured cream
Peel the onion and chop it finely. Put it into a shallow pan with the butter and let it cook over a moderate heat for 5 minutes or so until translucent. Tip into a large mixing bowl.
Lightly crush the juniper berries and add them to the onion with the breadcrumbs, 2 tsp of the grated horseradish and 1 tsp of the mustard. Add the minced beef, egg yolk, half of the chopped dill, and season with salt and black pepper. Mix thoroughly. Set the oven at 200C/gas mark 6.
Pull off pieces of the mixture and roll into balls using the palms of your hands. The size of a golf ball seems about right to me. Warm the olive oil in a non-stick pan and as soon as it starts to shimmer add approximately half the meatballs, leaving space between them. Turn over with a palette knife as they start to colour. Transfer to a shallow baking dish and cook the second batch. Pour the stock into the pan in which you browned the meatballs, bring to the boil, stir to dissolve any tasty-looking pan crustings then pour over the meatballs.
Put in a hot oven and leave for 20 minutes until the meatballs are cooked right through and the stock is shimmering. As the meatballs cook, stir the remaining grated horseradish, mustard and dill into the soured cream. Serve with the meatballs.
ROASTED ROOTS WITH HORSERADISH
Serves 4 as a light lunch
4 medium-sized beetroot
8 small carrots
2 parsnips
4 medium-sized onions
a little olive oil
a few sprigs of thyme
8 cloves of garlic
For the dressing:
2 tsp red-wine vinegar
2 tsp smooth mustard
2 tsp finely grated fresh horseradish
1 tsp runny honey
3 tbsp groundnut or sunflower oil
3 tbsp walnut oil
Set the oven at 200C/gas mark 6. Trim the beetroot but don't peel them. Put them in a pan of water and bring them to the boil. Simmer for 25 minutes or until they will just take the point of a skewer. Drain them and peel away the skin. It should come off easily. Put them in a roasting tin with the carrots, Jerusalem artichokes and parsnips halved or quartered, as you think fit, and the whole unpeeled onions. Trickle a little olive oil over them. Pull the thyme leaves off their twigs and add to the vegetables along with the whole garlic cloves. Season lightly with salt and cover the roasting tin loosely with foil. Bake for 45 minutes, then remove the foil and cook for a further 20 minutes.
Make the dressing. Put the vinegar into a small bowl. Add a good pinch of sea salt and let it dissolve. Stir in the mustard and horseradish, then whisk in the honey and oils. When the roots are ready, toss gently with the dressing and serve at once.
