In tomorrow’s post, you’ll find a recipe for Porcini-Braised Beef with Horseradish Mascarpone from Curtis Stone’s new book Good Food, Good Life. It was the Horseradish Mascarpone that hooked Suzen and me on making the recipe.
Curtis always has these little side things, like the Horseradish Mascarpone, that enliven and broaden the base recipe. This Horseradish Mascarpone has a life of its own, for you can it use many, many ways: not just braised beef but a sizzling steak off the grill, atop chicken, over roasted salmon, and surely with smoked fish for a brunch. Heck, it's creamy enough that you could dollop it atop tomatoes and greens for a spritely salad.
The Curtis Stone recipe is below, but if you google around, you’ll find many ways that you can create a horseradish cream. Here are ideas you might try to fashion your own flavor enhancer. These first two ideas are drastic departures from the original Curtis recipe, but they are ones you might consider depending on what is in your refrigerator:
- Use whipped cream or sour cream instead of mascarpone
- Use a tablespoon [or more] instead of prepared horseradish sauce rather than grating fresh horseradish
- Use sour cream instead of heavy cream in the recipe below
- Add chopped dill or other herbs, about ½ to 1 teaspoon for a cup of mascarpone
- Include few drops of hot sauce
- Add few drops of vinegar instead of the lemon juice suggested here
- Going full citrus with lime, grapefruit or even orange juice!
Personally, I liked the impact of freshly grated horseradish. The heavy cream certainly affected the consistency and applied just a tad of muting to the overall taste. This particular combination does not smack you in the mouth. It’s subtle and does not distract from the main dish it is used with, the Porcini-Braised Beef. You can use any of the ideas above to modify this recipe and achieve a higher mouth impact.
Horseradish Mascarpone
Yield: 1 ¼ cups
Ingredients:
- 1 cup mascarpone cheese
- ⅓ cup finely grated fresh horseradish
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Preparation:
In a small bowl, mix the mascarpone, horseradish, heavy cream, and lemon juice until blended. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Source: Curtis Stone Good Food, Good Life [Ballantine Books, 2015]
Photo Information [top picture]: Canon T2i, EFS 60 mm Macro Lens, F/4.5 for 1/30th second at ISO‑200