How to eat watercress

At watercress central (here), we think you can eat watercress any way you want to. Huffington Post, however, has some pretty great suggestions. Here's just one, but the link below takes you to the other fantastic ideas. It was hard to choose just one they all look so delicious:

Tomato, Watercress and Mozzarella Salad
Serves 4

1 pint cherry tomatoes
1 red bell pepper
1 yellow bell pepper
1 English cucumber
1 ball mozzarella, Claudio’s if possible
1 head watercress
¼ cup pine nuts, toasted
vinaigrette (see below)

Halve the cherry tomatoes and place in large bowl. Remove stem and seeds from peppers and chop into small dice. Dice the cucumbers finely as well and add to bowl with the tomatoes. Cut the ball of mozzarella into large pieces and add to the bowl. Add the watercress and pine nuts to the bowl and toss lightly with the Basil-shallot vinaigrette.

Basil-Shallot Vinaigrette
Yield = ½ cup

4 teaspoons sherry vinegar
1 tablespoon finely chopped shallots
½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
¼ teaspoon sugar
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 small bunch basil, finely chopped (1/4 cup)

In a small bowl, whisk together the vinegar, shallots, mustard, sugar and salt. Let mixture macerate for 20 minutes. Slowly drizzle in olive oil, whisking constantly until emulsified. Add the basil, whisk, taste, add more salt and pepper if necessary. Set aside. The original recipe was provided by Alexandra's Kitchen: http://www.alexandracooks.com/2007/06/19/tomato-watercress-and-mozzarella-salad/

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/07/09/watercress-recipes-soup-salad_n_3006513.html

There is a Watercress Festival!

How wonderful! It is on May 17th, there's still time to get your tickets to Winchester!

You can read all about it here: http://www.watercressfestival.org/

If you click the link you can read all about it and find some fabulous recipes.

Here's one from Kyoto Kitchen, Chef Varadon Meethong's creation:

Winchester Roll

Using Locally grown Wasabi and local smoked trout.

KYOTO KITCHEN WINCHESTER

Chef Varadon Meethong has been preparing and cooking Japanese cuisine for 30 years. Japanese cuisine is extensive with a wide variety of techniques and ingredients, but at the heart of     which lies the strong Japanese philosophy of sourcing locally and seasonally. Chef Varadon has interpreted this philosophy into the menu of the Kyoto Kitchen, Winchester's first  specialist Japanese restaurant. 

 

500g Sushi Rice

 200ml Sushi seasoning - can be bought readymade

 Fresh wasabi leaves

Wasabi flower

Fresh wasabi rhizome

Salt

Cucumber 

Romsey Smoked trout

Teriyaki sauce - can be bought readymade

400g Tempura flour

Water

Method

Wash the rice until the water runs clear.  Marinate wasabi leaves with salt.

Put 500 g and 500 ml of water, into the rice cooker and after 1 hour the rice is ready to mix

with the sushi seasoning. Leave to cool at room temperature.

Wash the wasabi leaf until the salt is gone and squeeze the leaf flat between sheets of 

kitchen paper until dry

Spread the Wasabi leaves, slightly overlapping, on your bamboo rolling mat. On the wasabi leaves put 100 g of rice, add 5g of thinly sliced cucumber and 20 g smoked trout on top of the rice. Use the bamboo mat to roll the the sushi, but keep the wasabi leaves on the outside. 

Mix the tempura flour with 400 ml water to create the tempura batter.

Mix the wasabi flower with the tempura batter. Heat some oil in a deep saucepan, carefully 

drop the wasabi flower into the oil and cook until the batter becomes crispy.

 Cut the roll into 8 equal pieces

Grate fresh wasabi and apply on top of each piece 

Cut the wasabi flower tempura and place on top of each piece of the roll

Squeeze teriyaki sauce on top of the Maki