Wednesday 23 March 2016

Watercress : Contains Iron, Calcium, Vitamins A, C and E


With deep green leaves, and crisp, paler stems, watercress is related to mustard and is one of the strongest-tasting salad leaves available. It has a pungent, slightly bitter, peppery flavour and is highly nutritious, containing significant amounts of iron, calcium, vitamins A, C and E. It's sold in either bunches or bags, and is good combined in a salad with milder leaves, or made into soup.

Availability:
Watercress is available all year round but is at its best from April until September.

Choose the best:
Go for crisp, dark green leaves, with no sign of yellowing or wilting.

Prepare it:
Wash and shake dry just before you're about to use it. Both the leaves and stems are edible - just trim off any tough roots.

Store it:
Watercress is highly perishable, so store it in a perforated bag in the fridge and eat it within a couple of days. Alternatively, treat it like a bunch of flowers and put in a glass of water in the fridge, covering the leaves with a plastic bag - it can last a little longer that way.

Cook it:
In a salad with rocket and orange segments; combine with potatoes in a soup; use in tarts and omelettes; use to make sandwiches or as a garnish for cooked foods such as game.

Alternatives:
Try rocket.

Above words and picture from here


Now, here are two recipe suggestions:


Roasted Cod with easy watercress sauce & roasted cherry tomatoes
For a no-fuss fish dish, see recipe here


Oriental glazed salmon with a watercress, cucumber and radish salad
This dish is suitable for a BBQ, or can be cooked indoors, see recipe here

Hope you may include some watercress in your dishes soon.
Happy Eating

All the best Jan

30 comments:

  1. Watercress in a salad mix with radishes, delicious.

    Annie

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  2. There's a misconception that watercress can only be grown in running water but it's really very easy to grow in a container, and it's delicious too.

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  3. I definitely will be looking for fresh watercress at the market this weekend Jan.. We had salmon for dinner tonight, so yum!

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  4. Veggies fill our plates for dinner nightly but I have never even thought of using water cress as an accompaniment to our meal. Thank you for this tip.
    Jemma

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  5. I don't think I have tried watercress, but you never know when I go out to have a salad I see all kinds of new to me greens inside :)
    Thanks for stopping by my blog with your sweet comments :)

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  6. I think I'll get out some fish for dinner!

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  7. Annie
    That salad mix sounds so good - I could eat some now!
    Thanks for your comment.

    All the best Jan

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  8. Jo
    I love it's peppery taste, and it's good for you to.
    Yes, it can be grown in containers - here is an excellent site with pictures - if other readers may want to grow some.

    http://www.wikihow.com/Grow-Watercress

    The first paragraph from the site says:
    " Considered one of the oldest leaf vegetables consumed by humans, watercress is a close cousin of mustard greens, cabbage and arugula. Watercress offers lots of nutrients and health benefits, and can be used in salads, soups, sandwiches and more to add a refreshing, peppery flavor.While considered an aquatic or semi-aquatic perennial plant that is often found near slow-moving water, you can also grow watercress in containers indoors or anywhere outdoors as long as they are shaded and have plenty of water."

    Thanks for your comment

    All the best Jan

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  9. Grace (PerthDailyPhoto)
    I love shopping at food markets - hope you are fortunate to buy some watercress, and enjoy it's peppery taste soon!

    Thanks for your comment

    All the best Jan

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  10. Jemma
    Yes, we too love a good selection of vegetables with our meat or fish.
    Glad you liked the tip, hope you may enjoy some watercress soon.

    Thanks for your comment

    All the best Jan

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  11. Connie
    Yes, you may well have enjoyed some watercress, it does appear in many salad mixes.
    I enjoyed my visit to your blog - many thanks for visiting us here - hope you will visit again soon.

    Thanks for your comment.

    All the best Jan

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  12. Linda
    Fish for dinner sounds good to me. I wonder if you will you be having a little watercress too!

    Thanks for your comment

    All the best Jan

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  13. Hello there, JAN! Happy spring. This is one of the most delicious seasons of the year with so much green going on! Wishing you a fabulous holiday and thank you for visiting and leaving such kind words. Anita

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  14. Happy Easter!
    Thank you for the dinner ideas.
    I can not wait for our fresh from the garden lettuce.
    Carla

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  15. Salmon is always seriously good with watercress! We just ate salmon with shallots, tumeric and mustard seed rice, asparagus and Cavalonero cabbage!x

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  16. Anita (Castles Crowns and Cottages)
    Spring is a lovely season ... and yes, you could say watercress just adds a lovely green and also a lovely flavour to our Spring dishes!
    May you have a wonderful Easter-time.

    Thanks for your comment

    All the best Jan

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  17. Carla
    Fresh produce - you can't beat it!
    Happy Easter to you and the family

    Thanks for your comment

    All the best Jan

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  18. Kezzie
    Yes, salmon and watercress just go so well together.
    Your meal sounds wonderful, but I had to look up "Cavalonero cabbage" ... to find it is a loose-leafed cabbage from Tuscany, Italy... see here:
    http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/glossary/cavolo-nero

    Thanks for your comment

    All the best Jan

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  19. Just LOVE watercress, I always grow it, and the fresher the better it is to eat, it has such flavour, brilliant stuff, you can add it to any meal. Full of iron too...xxx

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  20. Snowbird
    Yes, watercress does have quite a lot of iron in it ...
    Lovely to grow your own too...

    Thanks for your comment

    All the best Jan

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  21. I have never had watercress, but my family is a huge "greens" fan, so I think it's something we need to try! :) Everyone seems to be raving about it.

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  22. Kim
    Watercress has such a lovely peppery taste ... I just can't see how anyone could fail not to like it ... but I bet there may be a few who would disagree! LOL!
    Have a look out for it next time you shop, and perhaps give it a try.

    Thanks for your comment

    All the best Jan

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  23. I never think to buy watercress, but I do like it when I have it in a restaurant. I think rocket is what we call arugula?

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  24. Amy
    Watercress is popular with many restaurants, and sometimes we do not always think to have it at home ... perhaps we should give this leafy green more thought!
    Yes, Rocket / Arugula is 'the same thing' and another leafy green vegetable that stands out as a rich source of many vitamins and minerals too ... see here http://thelowcarbdiabetic.blogspot.co.uk/2016/02/lamb-cutlets-with-cannellini-beans-and.html

    Thanks for your comment

    All the best Jan

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  25. i like watercress, restaurants use it a lot, that's where i see it primarily. seems it has many uses!!!

    happy spring jan!!!!

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  26. Debbie
    Restaurants do seem to use watercress quite a lot - it just adds that little bit extra doesn't it.

    Happy Spring ... but it's raining as I look out of the window! Sunshine tomorrow ... I hope!

    Thanks for your comment

    All the best Jan

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  27. Ah, salmon's on my menu tonight--baked. :-)

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  28. Revrunner
    Welcome to the low carb diabetic blog ... salmon--baked sounds delicious to me!

    Thanks for your comment.

    All the best Jan

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  29. I like egg and watercress sandwiches, but it has to be brown bread for me, yummy.
    We tried watercress scones at a food festival once and they were pretty tasty too.
    Lisa x

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  30. Lisa
    Yes egg and cress in a brown bread sandwich is popular with many ...
    I always enjoy going to food festivals, you never know what food delights you may discover.

    Thanks for your comment

    All the best Jan

    ReplyDelete

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