Horseradish Sauce

Well, it was supposed to be artichoke root stock...

When it started coming up out of the ground, it looked like this -

As it grew, it developed leaves like this - 

This is not what artichoke plants look like. These leaves are huge. Is it tobacco? I did some research and found out what we had was horseradish. Not what we wanted but we let it grow. The leaves are edible, so we cut some and sauteed them up. They taste just like you'd expect horseradish leaves would taste - like horseradish. The leaves are mild, it is the root that has the real pungent sinus opening punch. Grated Horseradish root is what is used in horseradish sauce for prime rib, to make cocktail sauce and Chinese mustard. The root is typically harvested after the cold weather in the fall kills back the above ground leaves.

Here are some of the roots I dug up  on December 14.

We thought about making Chinese mustard but since we had a couple strip steaks, we figured a creamy horseradish sauce would go great with them. You can find horseradish root in most supermarkets. It will be larger than what we harvested from our garden, more like the size of a small turkey leg. You would need to peel and grate it.

Ingredients:

1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup grated for minced fresh horseradish root
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

After cleaning the roots, cut them into pieces and chop to a fine texture in a small food processor, then add the rest of the ingredients and blend until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Place in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours or overnight to allow flavors to meld. The sauce can be stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container for 2 to 3 weeks.

Lisa's OCD sometimes comes in handy as evidenced here in how she put all the ingredients together!  : )

The sauce was very good, perfect with the grilled strips.