In her latest book Bitter: A Taste of the World’s Most Dangerous Flavor, Jennifer McLagan entices us to put away our instinctive fear of the flavor bitter. Yes, instinctive. Many of the plants and berries that our earlier hunter-gatherer ancestors were foraging were things that would make us sick. Or dead. Through evolution, we just have a natural aversion to bitter.
Yet many of the foods we enjoy, like coffee, are technically bitter. Lord knows, horseradish is bitter. Here, Jennifer uses the term “quenelle” to denote the shape she wants. There are no fish in this dish, there is no cooking. Just horseradish and avocado mixed and served.
For a holiday weekend where you need some fast appetizers, this dish is a dream. Of course, as always, I made some changes. The original recipe below calls for making the quenelles using two spoons. I am a little awkward physically. Well, my wife calls me a klutz, which is severely true. So, I simply used an ice cream scoop.
Second, for visual effect and taste, I topped off the quenelles with some large flakes of garlic-flavored sea salt, in addition to the pinch of salt put into the quenelles themselves. The look, and the intensified taste, are great.
Lastly, I did follow the recipe here and used one avocado with 2 tablespoons of hot horseradish. Perhaps it is my reaction to bitter, but this seemed a little horseradish heavy. And of course bottles of prepared horseradish vary widely in the intensity of their flavor — plus how long that bottle has been hidden in your refrigerator. So, when making this dish, start with just 1 tablespoon of the horseradish. Add the lemon juice, mix, and taste test. You may want the full 2 tablespoons of horseradish or you may be inclined to stop.
Either way, this is a surprising treat that can great you holiday party guests. Or just you. Don’t open a bottle of wine here. Bitter and wine can be an odd mix, and horseradish can overpower any grape any night of the week. But a whiskey sour? That is an admirable horseradish sidekick.
Here’s a link to my earlier review of Bitter.
Horseradish and Avocado Quenelles
Yield: 7 or 8 quenelles
Ingredients:
- 1 ripe avocado, about 8 ½ ounces
- 2 tablespoons prepared extra-hot horseradish
- Salt, a pinch or more
- Freshly squeezed lemon juice [from 1 lemon]
Preparation:
Cut the avocado in half and remove the pit. Slip the flesh out the skin into a bowl. Add the horseradish and salt plus a squeeze of lemon juice. Using a fork, mash until well blended. Taste and adjust the seasoning as necessary. If not serving immediately, press a piece of plastic wrap directly onto the surface of the mixture and refrigerate.
To make a quenelle, take two equal-sized dessert spoons and dip one into the mixture. Use the second spoon to form the avocado mixture into an egg shape. Using the second spoon, slide the quenelle onto a plate.