Today’s recipe features sweet apple jelly and spicy horseradish. Paired with oily fish or rich meat, either by itself or steeped in vinegar, or in a plain sauce, horseradish stimulates digestion in tasty fashion.
Horseradish has been prized for its medicinal and culinary qualities for centuries.
Legend has it the Delphic oracle told Apollo, “The radish is worth its weight in lead, the beet its weight in silver, the horseradish its weight in gold.”
During the Renaissance, horseradish consumption spread from Central Europe northward to Scandinavia and westward to England.
By the late 1600s, horseradish was the standard accompaniment for beef and oysters among all Englishmen. The English, in fact, grew the pungent root at inns and coach stations, to make cordials to revive exhausted travelers.
Early settlers brought horseradish to North America, and commercial cultivation began in the mid 1850s, when immigrants started horseradish farms in the Midwest. Horseradish is still planted and harvested mostly by hand.
Horseradish has only 2 calories a teaspoon, is low in sodium and provides dietary fiber.
Apple and Horseradish-Glazed Salmon
This recipe is adapted from Cooking Light (May 2004), and is delicious served with a side of couscous or rice.
Makes 4 servings
1/3 cup apple jelly
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh chives
2 tablespoons prepared horseradish
1 tablespoon champagne vinegar
1/2 teaspoon kosher sea salt, divided
4 (6-ounce) wild Alaskan Salmon fillets
1/4 teaspoon organic black pepper
2 teaspoons organic extra virgin olive oil
Preheat oven to 350°.
Combine apple jelly, chives, horseradish, vinegar, and 1/4 teaspoon salt, stirring well with a whisk.
Sprinkle Salmon with 1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add salmon, and cook 3 minutes. Turn Salmon over; brush with half of apple mixture. Remove Salmon, with apple mixture topping in place, to baking dish; bake at 350° for 5 minutes or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork. Brush with remaining apple mixture and serve.
CALORIES 375 (40% from fat); FAT 16.8g (sat 4.3g,mono 7.7g,poly 3.4g); PROTEIN 36.4g; CHOLESTEROL 90mg; CALCIUM 30mg; SODIUM 376mg; FIBER 0.1g; IRON 0.7mg; CARBOHYDRATE 18.1g
