Where has all the horseradish gone?

I'm not talking about fresh horseradish here - I know it's supposed to be a weed but you never find horseradish in its raw form in the shops here. Well I might have sighted it once, but not recently. No I'm talking about common or garden horseradish in a jar - from Heinz. I recently ran out and so I went to replace it, and both Woolworths and Coles seem to have withdrawn it from their shelves (more about this in a later post). They now only have horseradish cream which is not the same thing at all. My last batch was actually Aldi's version but I was not impressed. It was very tame.

So what to do? Horseradish is an occasional but essential condiment for me. Not only for the roast beef, which we don't have that often, but more as part of a sauce to accompany smoked fish and also as an essential ingredient in a few recipes - my smoked fish and beetroot tart for a start. Maybe I have to succumb to Aldi's version - or scour the gourmet (and expensive) grocer's shelves. Maybe I have to resort to growing my own. But where do I get a plant? I doubt that Bunnings has them.

As you can see I am not a classy shopper. I'm sure there are sources for both the bottled varieties and the plants. But planting it seems fraught with danger:

"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." Nigel Slater

Apparently (gee I use that word a lot - I wonder what that says about me) - yes apparently even a tiny bit of the root left in the ground will spread and take over the whole garden. So knowing my gardening luck I'd better not go there. Mind you he did suggest containing it in a bucket or pot. I think I'll continue my search for the bottled variety in the meantime though.

It goes particularly well with potatoes and beetroot and Nigel Slater gives a few quick ideas for how to use it - though bear in mind he is talking about the grated fresh variety. he also says it is good combined with mustard.

"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."

Mind you when I dipped into this even further I discovered that it's almost dangerous to grate it. Witness this passage from Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall:

"Horseradish looks innocuous enough, a bit like a grubby, gnarly, overgrown parsnip. Unpeeled, it's dormant. It has no smell to warn you about what lies beneath its scruffy skin. Peeling it begins to activate its pungent oils; grating it is like kicking a sleeping dragon in a tender place. It gets angry. And you get burnt. Eyes stream, nose runs. You'll be begging to chop a pile of onions for light relief."

So being a coward at heart I think I shall just continue my trawl through the shops for the bottled variety. Both supermarkets used to have a larger jar from a company with a name something like Eskal - but no more. And I do wonder why because it isn't as if it is completely non-trendy. And it's a weed!

But I should tell you the perfect accompaniment to smoked fish - a spoonful each of horseradish, whole grain mustard and cream mixed together. Couldn't be simpler.