Among the first things pushing up in the vegetable garden are the fern-like leaves of horseradish. As the plant grows, the leaves become bigger and broader, covering a mass of gnarled brown roots. Related to neither horse nor radish, it's a fiery, perennial member of the crucifer family of vegetables.

Horseradish is started from a root. Purchase them from a catalogue, such as Johnny's Selected Seeds, or ask a friend to give you a piece. Just a little will do because horseradish can and probably will become invasive. Once you have it, you always have it.

Which means that if you celebrate Passover, you will know where to find horseradish for the Seder plate. Called maror, it symbolizes the bitterness of the slavery experience, as explained by Rabbi Gil Marks in "The World of Jewish Cooking."

For the Seder plate, I use a bit of the top with a little green leaf, so it's spring-like. The rest of the long root, or what can be pried from the hard ground, is cleaned and peeled, then grated and mixed with vinegar and sugar. It's a component of the symbolic Hillel sandwich: usually matzo, haroset (often chopped apples, walnuts, sweet wine and cinnamon) and horseradish. Later in the meal a dollop is served alongside gefilte fish to enliven your taste buds or the fish. I like it with the brisket, if that's on the menu. This year, we're having lamb.

Too often the only horseradish we're familiar with is the prepared stuff, made with beets and plain. It's good fresh but usually you use it once then the jar gets stuffed into the fridge and forgotten. When the color changes, the zip is gone.

Fresh from the jar or fresh-grated, horseradish adds punch to many dishes, such as corned beef and cabbage, boiled or mashed potatoes, roast beef and pot roast. Try whisking horseradish into the pot roast gravy just before serving. Or mix it with mashed avocado, lemon juice and salt and spoon atop grilled or broiled fish. Swedes and Norwegians stir horseradish into sour cream to accompany smoked fish.

Depending on which Eastern European country your family is from, horseradish might be called chrain (in Yiddish) or khrin.

Avert your face while grating it as the volatile oils can irritate skin. Try adding grated, cooked fresh beets or a little juice from canned beets so it stands out on the plate. A mouthful of pure horseradish is a memorable, sinus-clearing occasion.

Digging horseradish, normally done in the fall after the first frost, is also memorable. It's tough work.

My neighbor, Wendy Saul, dug some wintered-over horseradish just this week, because spring is when we use it. She shared the roots, because she's got more than we do. She dug them up in the dark and packed them in a plastic bag she hung on our front gate. Thank you, Wendy.

Happy holidays!

Wendy Saul's Horseradish

PG tested

Make 1 or 2 weeks ahead and keep tightly covered in refrigerator.

• 8 ounces fresh horseradish root, peeled
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon granulated sugar (or to taste)
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt (or to taste)
  
  
  
  

  Grate horseradish with shredding blade of food processor. Remove blade and fit metal knife in work bowl. Process horseradish to a fine paste, adding vinegar gradually. Add sugar and salt; process to mix. Taste, adding more sugar or salt as desired. Transfer to jar; cover tightly and refrigerate.

  Makes about 11/4 cups.

  Ginger-Beet Horseradish

  PG tested

  If you are in a hurry, you might want to try this clever horseradish idea.

  • 1 tablespoon peeled and finely grated fresh ginger, or to taste
  • 1 cup prepared beet horseradish

  1 tablespoon peeled and finely grated fresh ginger, or to taste

  1 cup prepared beet horseradish

  Stir the ginger into the horseradish, adding more or less according to preference. Cover and stand for at least 30 minutes to allow the flavors to meld.

  -- "The Gefilte Variations: 200 Inspired Re-creations of Classics from the Jewish Kitchen, with Menus, Stories, and Traditions for the Holidays and Year-Round" by Jayne Cohen (Scribner, 2000)

  Miriam Rubin, a cookbook author and food writer, already has planted peas, lettuce, beets, carrots and spinach in her kitchen garden in Greene County. E-mail her at mmmrubin@gmail.com.
  First published on April 2, 2009 at 12:00 am