A Vinegar a Day | 3 January | Horseradish Cream

Jazz up any lingering leftovers with this pungent condiment

It won't surprise you that we at the Artisan Vinegar Company think that good vinegar goes with pretty much anything. (Not vanilla ice cream, you say? Challenge accepted.) Thus, I've decided to write one vinegar recipe per day this week — just to show the myriad uses of this wonderful sour liquid. Enter Day 3.

True, most of Christmas dinner and any other elaborate festive meals will likely have found its way into sandwiches, quiches, hashes, and whatever else you like to do with leftovers by now. However, if not, this horseradish cream sauce is perfect for adding pep to any further meal repeats.

There are many ways of making homemade creamed horseradish (and they're all healthy and more flavourful than the store-bought kind). This version skips the multiple dairy-related steps many recipes call for, such as whipping heavy cream before folding it into soured cream or yogurt, and instead makes use of crème fraîche, itself already luscious, creamy, and tangy.

The vinegar accentuates the tanginess of the crème fraîche while cutting through its richness. Any non-fruit vinegar would work well here, although darker vinegars will give the sauce a slightly odd greyish shade. For a variation, add a good handful of finely chopped chives.

Horseradish Cream Sauce

• 300 ml Crème fraîche, full-fat
• 1 Horseradish root, fresh (you can also use jarred plain horseradish, although you will likely need more by volume due to its more muted flavour)
• 1 tbsp Artisan Cider Vinegar, maybe more
• Salt

Open any nearby windows and don protective glasses and perhaps a mask (breathing in freshly grated horseradish is no joke). Peel off the horseradish root's brown outer layer (you needn't do a perfect job).

Using a food processor's grating attachment — or a microplane or box grater — grate the entire horseradish. Allow the fluffy grated mass to sit for a while to settle the fumes.

Mix the horseradish with the crème fraîche in the container in which you aim to serve/store the sauce. Add a tablespoon of vinegar and a good pinch of salt, stir, and taste. Add more vinegar and/or salt if needed.

Allow to chill in the fridge for a while before serving. This keeps for several days at least.

– Beatrix Swanson

Image credit: Wikimedia Commons