Project 009: Nick’s Lunchbox Service

Nick sent us this contribution for Project 009: Brown Bag It. We’ve always wanted to know how to make horseradish:

“Every Wednesday, I make brown bag lunches for $5 for my coworkers at the Guggenheim Museum. It’s called ‘Nick’s Lunchbox Service,’ even though it comes in a paper bag. The lunch includes a sandwich, fruit and tortilla chips, and it’s always vegetarian. I make about 12 lunches per week.

The lunch box service started out as a means of relaying awesome food from the farmers’ market to those I work with on the Upper East Side of New York City. So the food is as local and organic as possible. Now that we’re in late winter, the locally-made food is limited to the bread, which is usually from Amy’s Bread, and carrots, horseradish and apples from the Union Square Farmer Market. The rest is from Manhattan Fruit Exchange in Chelsea Market and Integral Yoga, a holistic health-foods store in the Village.

A rubber stamp for the bag says ‘Nick’s Lunchbox Service,’ which has to be the best part of the whole lunch.”

RECIPE:
(makes 10 sandwiches )

Ingredients:
1 green and 2 yellow bell peppers, sliced
3 carrots, washed (not peeled) and sliced
1/2 pound white or cremini mushrooms, sliced
1 cup homemade horseradish
3/4 pound Jarlsberg cheese, sliced
1 sliced loaf of locally baked whole wheat bread (Amy’s Bread is the best in NYC)
3/4 pound baby spinach
Dash of salt + freshly ground pepper

Directions:
On one slice of bread, arrange the peppers and then mushrooms and carrots, and top with the spinach. Sprinkle with a little salt and grind on some black pepper. Put on a few slices of Jarlsberg cheese (mild and slightly sweet to go with the horseradish).

On the second piece of bread, spoon on and spread out the homemade horseradish. Put this slice on top of the first slice.

Wrap the sandwich (Plastic wrap works well).

Homemade Horseradish:
1 cup peeled horseradish cut to 1/2-inch pieces
1/2 cup white wine vinegar
1 1/2 tsp. agave nectar (or 2 tsp. sugar)
1/4 tsp salt

Directions:
Throw everything in a food processor. Whir, whir again, and whir until pureed. Store in covered mason jar. Keeps for 4-6 weeks in the refrigerator.