My recent-ish visit to Austria inspired me to try some more typically European ingredients and I’ve always been interested in using, but not really come across, the fresh horseradish root. Borough Mkt was again the provider and I also got some fresh beetroot whilst I was there, which I’ve never used before, with the idea of maybe making some kind of horseradish and beetroot relish.

Instead of the relish, I found a very interesting recipe for the smoked mackerel fishcakes, which used horseradish (albeit of the sauce variety). I amended the recipe in a couple of places, but the original can be found here http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/database/smokedmackerelandhor_81884.shtml.

I used half the amount of potatoes and mackerel (I also used peppered mackerel) and it make 6 large fishcakes. I also didn’t cook the red onion for the salsa as I wanted to have a more crunchy texture, but apart from that, I pretty much stuck to the recipe. In regards to the horseradish, I deliberately went sparingly, as it really is potent stuff. I used about 1cm of the root, which I peeled and grated into the fishcake mixture.

I thought it was a good recipe, although making the fishcakes is fairly messy and a bit of a pain. They don’t take too long to shape and breadcrumb, though, so it’s not too much of a hardship. I found making a sort of production line, with seasoned flour on one plate, beaten egg on the next and breadcrumbs on the third plate, with a plate to put the completed fishcakes on, made things a lot easier.  I also was surprised that the horseradish didn’t have more of a kick and think I could have added more, without it overpowering the mackerel. It reminded me of seasoning homemade burgers, which can take a huge amount of seasoning before unduly affecting the taste. I also think the beetroot salsa could have been improved with some fresh horseradish, so will add some to the remainder, which I’m going to have, along with the last two fishcakes, for my lunch today!