Gingered Watercress

I happened across a television show on the Cooking Channel called French Food at Home, where this dish was being prepared. I'd never seen the show before, never heard of the "cooking channel" before and I've never had watercress before. It looked so easy I was intrigued and decided to try it. Of course calling it French didn't hurt either!

This is an interesting side dish, and good for something a little different. The watercress stems are sort of crunchy and take on the flavor of the other ingredients (which is good, because I wasn't impressed with the raw watercress flavor). Our boys said they didn't like it, but did take a few bites each. My husband and I didn't love it, but it was pretty good.

I didn't have a fresh tomato, so I used canned diced tomatoes. If you are going to do this substitution, only use half a can. Next time I will also chop the diced tomatoes finer. I would also use a bit more ginger. On French Food at Home, she said to use about 1 inch of ginger. Measure generously.

I still don't understand why our teeny tiny grocery store carries watercress and not kale...but regardless you should try this dish for a change.





Gingered Watercress

Recipe courtesy Laura Calder

Prep Time: 10 min

Cook Time: 15 min

6 servings

2 bunches fresh watercress, trimmed (about 1 1/2 pounds)
3 tablespoons oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 knob (1-inch) fresh ginger, peeled and minced
1 tomato, seeded and chopped
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Wash the cress and spin it dry. Heat the oil in a wok or skillet. Add the garlic and ginger and cook 1 minute. Add the tomato and cook to paste. Add the cress, and cook down, turning occasionally with tongs, until tender, about 10 minutes. Season and serve.