The power house that is watercress!

I’ve never really used watercress  much before apart from adding it into a mixed salad now and then and we’ve certainly never grown it but when we decided to use it as the main ingredient for some of our demos at the flower shows we’ve been converted!

It’s really interesting to grow – we tried seeds which were fine but it’s really quick to buy a bag, bung the shoots in water and wait for it to root. It only takes a few days then you can pot it on.

What I hadn’t realised is just how good it is for you! With over 50 vital vitamins and minerals it’s a real powerhouse of nutrients. In particular vitamin A and K as well as being high in antioxidants

The goodness is at it’s peak when eaten raw but it’s still good when lightly cooked and is actually easier to digest for some of us. Treat it a bit like spinach and wilt it into lots of dishes at the end of cooking time.

Watercress & Feta fritters

Makes 8 nibble size fritters (easily doubles)

50g watercress, roughly chopped

50g feta cheese, crumbled

1 egg, beaten

35g SR flour

1 spring onion, finely sliced

Pepper

Couple of tablespoons of milk if necessary

Handful of a chopped herb – parsley, dill or mint work well

Put the watercress and spring onions in a bowl and mix together

Add in the feta and then the beaten egg. Stir together well

Add in the flour and half a tablespoon of milk until you have a thick batter. Add another half a tablespoon of milk if it seems really thick

Add in the chopped herbs and stir in then add more milk if it seems too thick or a bit of flour if too runny. It should be a really thick consistency – you don’t want it to be runny but everything should stick together!

Heat a drizzle of oil on a griddle or frying pan over a medium heat.

Drop tablespoons of the batter into the pan and flatten slightly

Cook for 2-3 minutes then flip over and cook for another 3 or so minutes until golden brown on each side.

Keep warm if you need to do another batch then serve with a dip.

Try Greek yoghurt with a squeeze of lemon juice or a sweet chilli sauce

For a quick brunch idea top with a poached egg

Or try this watercress salsa verde which goes well with the fritters but could be used to drizzle over cooked meats or some roasted veg

Watercress salsa verde

Handful of watercress

2 tbspns parsley

1 tbspn capers

½ garlic clove

½ lemon juice

4 tbspns olive oil

Simply blitz all the ingredients in a blender then keep in the fridge till needed. This freezes well too.