Tag Archives: horseradish

Boiled Beef with Horseradish

“Maester Vyman returned at evenfall to minister to Lord Tully and bring Catelyn a modest supper of bread, cheese, and boiled beef with horseradish. ‘I spoke to Utherydes Wayn, my lady. He is quite certain that no woman by the name of Tansy has ever been at Riverrun during his service.'” -A Storm of Swords

Boiled Beef and Horseradish

Boiled Beef and Horseradish

Thoughts:

This is one of those dishes that just gets better and better, and honestly couldn’t be easier to make. Basically: boil some meat for several hours, until the meat is tender and falls apart, then serve. The meat can be cut into thick, flavorful slices, and the vegetables are so soft that they nearly melt in your mouth. Add a hunk of bread, a few slices of cheddar, and you’re set.

Seriously. And if you toss the leftovers in a crock pot, and let it simmer on low overnight, it becomes extra amazing. The broth reduces down and the meat falls apart. I serve it for breakfast, over biscuits.

YOM!

Boiled Beef & Horseradish Recipe

Ingredients:

  • 4 lb. beef roast
  • water to cover
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 3 whole cloves
  • 4 medium carrots, sliced
  • 2 leeks, white parts sliced

Place the roast in a pot large enough to hold it, along with the vegetables. Add enough water to cover. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer. Let cook for at least 5 hours, until the meat is tender and cooked all the way through. Serve hot, or cold as leftovers. If dry, pour some of the broth over it.

Sauce:

  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 2 tablespoons flour
  • 1 cup of the beef stock
  • 3 Tbs. freshly grated horseradish
  • 4 tablespoons heavy cream
  • salt and pepper to taste.

Melt the butter, add the flour, and stir to combine. Cook for a few minutes, then when it’s a pale golden color, pour in a ladle of the beef broth from the roast. Stir to combine everything, then add the remaining ingredients except the cream. Simmer for a few minutes, then remove from heat and add the cream.

 

Root Soup

 “He found Dolorous Edd at the fire, complaining about how difficult it was for him to sleep when people insisted on blowing horns in the woods. Jon gave him something new to complain about. Together they woke Hake, who received the Lord Commander’s orders with a stream of curses, but got up all the same and soon had a dozen brothers cutting roots for a soup.”

Root Soup

Thoughts:

This is a basic soup, meant for sustenance rather than to showcase one’s culinary prowess. 

When constructing this recipe, I carefully took several things into consideration. First, that most of these roots would have to be foraged. The Brothers of the Night’s Watch are north of the Wall, which dramatically changes their supplies. They don’t have access to a pantry, and could only cook what they found or had brought with them.

I considered the roots to be foraged, a task I would have loved to experience firsthand, although I foraged mine from a variety of grocery stores instead of a forest. Salt pork is an easy enough thing to travel with, as is a bit of grain, such as barley. I happened to have cracked barley, and used that, figuring it would approximate the condition of barley after traveling in a saddlebag for a long while. 

The fun of a recipe like this is that you get to construct it much the same way that the Brothers would. The ingredients list is flexible, so you needn’t stress about finding obscure roots in order to make a perfect copy of my version. Forage among your local markets, in your pantry, or if you’re lucky enough, your own backyard. Or your neighbor’s: I won’t judge.

My finished soup was certainly not a new favorite that I would serve to guests, or even necessarily make again (barring a zompocalypse). It was mild, but flavorful, and very filling, especially when paired with a hunk of bread and a bit of cheese. I liked the adventure of seeing what new combination of roots came up with each spoonful

But it’s all about the experience and mindset. Sipping the mild broth from the comfort of your couch is a vastly different experience than coming inside from the icy winter wind to a steaming bowl of broth and carbs. Make some arctic wind noices. Sit in front of your AC unit. Or wait until winter proper (it’s coming, you know…), and try the soup after shoveling the drive or helping with snow fort construction. I promise that it will dramatically change the way you experience this meal!

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