Boiled beef in broth (Tafelspitz)Mix the root with grated apple and serve it cold beside the hot beef.
Boiled beef tongueSlice the tongue thin and serve it with horseradish cream or beet horseradish.
French boiled beef and vegetables (pot-au-feu)Grate it fresh over the meat, or stir it into a little cream.
Mixed boiled meats (bollito misto)Set out a small bowl of grated root in vinegar and let people help themselves.
Prime rib with its pan juicesFold the horseradish into sour cream and spoon it beside each slice.
Rare roast beef on a salted caraway roll (beef on weck)Spread it on the cut side of the top bun, as much as you dare.
Roast beefCarve it thin and pass the horseradish sauce at the table.
Steak tartare on dark ryeGrate the root over the top at the table.
Eggs, beets and the holiday table 7
Baked egg and potato frittata (rafanata)The horseradish goes into the eggs before baking. Serve it in wedges.
Chopped fruit and nut paste (charoset)Dip the horseradish into it before you eat it.
Cooked beetsGrate them together for a red relish that is milder and a little sweet.
Hard-boiled eggsHalve them and top each with a little horseradish, or chop them into it.
Horseradish soupLadle it over a halved boiled egg.
MatzoPut the grated root between two pieces and eat it as a small sandwich.
Sweet Easter bread (paska)Lay ham and a little beet horseradish on a slice.
Ham, pork and sausages 5
Baked or boiled hamA dab on each slice, hot or cold.
Cheese-filled sausage (Käsekrainer)Freshly cut root and mustard on the side, with a slice of bread.
Cured pork fatback on bread (salo)Thin slices on dark bread with raw onion and a little horseradish.
Jellied meat broth (kholodets)Serve the jelly cold and the horseradish sharp.
Roast pork knucklePut mustard on the same plate and take a little of each.
Shellfish 3
Oysters on the half shellFreshly grated root on its own is enough. Add lemon if you like.
Raw clams on the half shellA dot of horseradish or cocktail sauce and a squeeze of lemon.
Shrimp cocktailStir horseradish into ketchup with lemon juice and dip the cold shrimp.
Fish 4
Gefilte fishServe the fish cold with beet horseradish on the side.
Poached carp with boiled potatoesPass a creamy horseradish sauce in a jug.
Poached cod with mustard sauceScatter grated horseradish over the fish at the table.
Smoked troutFold the horseradish into cream and serve it with the flaked fish.
Stirred into the horseradish 3
Grated appleA tart apple softens the heat. Mix just before serving.
Sour creamFold it in to make a cool, mild sauce for beef or fish.
Tomatoes and garlicBlend them with the root for a red sauce that suits dumplings and meat.
How it works
What to eat with horseradish? Beef first, roast or boiled, then fish, shellfish, ham and eggs. These 30 ideas include prime rib, the Easter and Passover tables, and three things to stir into the root itself.
Read the full guide
Where horseradish goes on the table
In Britain it is the sauce for roast beef on Sunday. In the United States it is mixed with sour cream for prime rib and goes into cocktail sauce. Ashkenazi cooks serve it with gefilte fish, white or reddened with beet, and many use the grated root as the bitter herb at the Passover Seder. In Croatia it is eaten with boiled ham or beef.
What to eat horseradish with tonight
Start with something rich or mild: beef, ham, smoked fish or eggs. Fresh root, grated at the table, is the sharpest. A sauce from a jar is milder, and sour cream or grated apple softens it further.
Grate fresh root just before the meal. It loses its bite once it meets the air.
Stir it into a hot sauce at the end, off the heat. Heat dulls it too.
Questions and answers
What do you eat with horseradish?
Most often beef: roast beef, prime rib, boiled beef or tongue. It also goes with ham, sausages, smoked and poached fish, gefilte fish, oysters, shrimp cocktail, hard-boiled eggs and beets.
What do you eat horseradish sauce with?
Roast beef is the classic, hot or in a sandwich. The creamy kind, made with sour cream, also suits prime rib, boiled beef, tongue and smoked trout.
What do you eat beet horseradish with?
Red horseradish, grated with cooked beet, is the usual partner for gefilte fish. At Easter it is eaten with sweet paska bread and sausage. It suits boiled tongue and cold ham as well.
What can you do with fresh horseradish root?
Grate it over oysters, boiled beef or a cheese-filled sausage, or mix it with grated apple. Tomatoes and garlic blended with the root make a red Siberian sauce for dumplings and meat.
Can you eat horseradish with sushi?
You probably have. Outside Japan the wasabi paste beside sushi is now usually made with horseradish, because the true wasabi plant is scarce.