Tuesday, March 3, 2009

fresh greens II


Watercress (See yesterday's post) is a pungent member of the mustard family, rich in vitamins A and C. In his 1962 book “Stalking the Wild Asparagus,” Euell Gibbons has a recipe for watercress soup, which sounds delightfully satisfying. It would be just the thing to take the chill out of that ancestral log cabin my imagination found itself in yesterday.

Gibbons writes, "In gathering watercress, do not pull the whole plant. Twist, pinch or snip it off at the surface of the water. The below-water parts of the stem bear white roots at the nodes, which are tough and unpalatable."

Watercress can be eaten uncooked in salads, or, if cooked, it should be prepared like spinach. Gibbons says, "Don't really cook it; just Chinese it." Cook it lightly, over-cooking destroys many of the vitamins.

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