London smoked eel sandwich

For ➊
1 slice of sourdough bread
butter
30-40 g fillet of smoked eel*
1 heaped ts of horseradish cream
Dijon mustard
¼ small red onion, peeled & thinly sliced
2 tbs white wine vinegar
a good pinch of sugar

Dissolve the sugar in the vinegar. Steep the sliced onion in the pickle and let stand for 1 h.
Warm a grilling pan over a gentle heat. Lay the sour dough on the grill and brown nicely.
Cut the eel fillet into 3 largish pieces.
Butter the toasted side of the sour dough. Cut this in half and spread with Dijon mustard.
Lay on the eel and then the horseradish cream. Lay on the other piece of toast and return to the grill.
Allow the sandwich to brown, then flip and cook similarly on the other side.
Put on a plate and heap the drained pickle alongside.
Serve immediately.

*Replace with smoked trout or mackerel fillet. Or even smoked halibut.

Agnello con salsa di rafano (Piedmontese roast lamb with horseradish sauce)

For ➏
1 kg rack from a young lamb
½ leek, finely sliced
1 rib of celery, sliced
1 carrot, sliced
4 leaves fresh sage
1 sprig of rosemary
75 g unsalted butter
3 tbs olive oil
450 g renette apples
50 g freshly grated horseradish
2 tbs sugar
3 dl good broth
15 cl red wine vinegar
salt & pepper

Begin by peeling and coring the apples.
Preheat your oven to 180° C. Dot a baking dish with the butter and drizzle the olive oil over it. Set the lamb into the dish and sprinkle the chopped vegetables and herbs around it. Season the lamb with salt and pepper, cover the dish, and roast the lamb for about 40 m. Baste it with pan juices every now and again.
In the meantime prepare the sauce. Blend the apples with the horseradish, sugar and vinegar, adding sufficient broth to make a liquid sauce.
When the meat is fork-tender, slice it.
Arrange the slices in a deep heatproof serving dish. Spoon the applesauce over it, heat the dish through in the oven, and serve it.

Quick remoulade sauce

For 25 cl
1 tbs chopped fresh parsley leaves
2 tbs finely chopped green onions, white & green parts
2 tbs finely chopped sweet pickles
dash garlic powder
10 cl mayonnaise
1 tbs olive oil
2 ts fresh lemon juice
1 ts Dijon or Ghent mustard
few drops Worcestershire sauce
pepper

Combine all ingredients*.

Refrigerate for at least 1 h to blend flavors and chill.

*Add a little prepared horseradish.
**Excellent with crab, fish...

Sixties' shrimp cocktail

For ➋
10 jumbo prawns cleaned, peel intact
½ ts coarse salt
1 tbs melted butter
½ lemon, rasped & juiced
100 g plain bread crumbs
20 g prepared horseradish
10 cl cream
¼ ts salt
¼ ts cayenne pepper
15 cl sour cream
1 tbs chopped parsley
2 leaves of lettuce hearts

Preheat a grill pan over medium high heat. Loosen shells of prawns and butterfly them cutting down the vein line of the back of the prawns. Toss prawns with coarse salt.

Combine melted butter with lemon juice and zest.

Cover prawns with lemon butter and set on hot grill. Grill prawns 3 to 4 m on each side, until pink and firm.

In a bowl, combine bread crumbs, horseradish, cream and salt. Let the cream soak into the bread crumbs for 2 m. Loosen bread crumbs with a fork. Stir in cayenne and combine with sour cream. Spoon equal amounts of sauce into ramekins on individual plates or a dip bowl in the centre or a large platter. Arrange 5 grilled prawns on a leaf of romaine lettuce.

Serve shrimps with seafood forks alongside dipping sauce.
Or shred a leaf of lettuce, put in a cocktail glass, add dipping sauce and arrange (at least 1) shrimp(s) on the rim of the glass or on top of the dipping and lettuce.

The origin of the shrimp cocktail goes back to the late 19th or early 20th century. Contemporary American cookbooks confirm that the combination of shellfish (most typically oysters) and a spicy tomato-based sauce (usually ketchup spiced with horseradish, Tabasco and cayenne) served in tiny cups as appetizers was extremely popular in the early part of the 20th century. Most of the times, it was just a way of presenting the food with a dipping sauce. So-called cocktail appetizers were extremely popular during the 1920s, the decade of Prohibition, when these appetizers were served in cocktail glasses, originally meant to hold alcoholic beverages.
Although it probably existed before, the idea of the shrimp cocktail was launched to a large audience by the New York Times Christmas dinner suggestion in 1926, making it more a starter than an appetizer by adding more ingredients like lettuce.
It became extremely popular during during the 50's and spread to Europe in the 60's, as a fashionable sign of the new prosperity.
Try a Belgian variation by replacing the sauce with Belgian cocktail sauce. (Shrimps might be steamed.)

Salmon with black trumpets & horseradish sauce

For ➋
200 g black trumpets
2 tbs butter
4 tbs mayonnaise*
4 tbs grated horseradish*
1 tbs minced fresh parsley
1 ts fresh lemon juice
2 salmon steaks or fillets, 200 g each
lemon wedges

Sauté mushrooms in 1 tbs butter over medium heat for 3 m. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Mix together mayo, horseradish, parsley and lemon juice in a small bowl and set aside.

Put salmon in baking dish and dot with remaining butter. Broil 20 cm from upper grill until barely brown on edges.

Spread horseradish sauce over fish and broil until bubbly and golden.

Decorate with sautéed mushrooms and lemon wedges.

Serve with a glass of spicy white wine like viognier.

*You can use commercially prepared horseradish. Lower mayonnaise quantity for firmer sauce.

Horseradish sauce

For ➍
4 tbs mayonnaise*
4 tbs grated horseradish
1 tbs minced fresh parsley
1 ts fresh lemon juice 

Mix together mayo, horseradish, parsley and lemon juice in a small bowl. Spread on fish before putting it in the oven.

Serve with firm fish, as in black trumpets with salmon & horseradish sauce.

*Replace 3 tbs of 4 (or even all 4) by sour (or whipped) cream to have a sauce that can also be served with roast beef or pork. Add 1 ts of mustard to heighten the flavour. It is served cold, at room temperature, or slightly warm. Heat carefully in a bain-marie or in a microwave oven. Don't let it boil.