Nasturtium officinale (Watercress)

Watercress, Nasturtium officinales, is one those vegetables that hangs in the background of our collective consciousness. I had definitely heard of watercress before. I have probably even eaten it on several occasions. But if someone had asked me about watercress this time last week, the odds are good that I would have confused it with water chestnuts.

There's a good reason that watercress resides in our collective consciousness: people have been growing and eating watercress for a long time. A variety of sources cite it as either the oldest or one of the oldest leafy greens cultivated by humanity. Watercress shows up in the writings of Hippocrates, the ancient Persians, and the Talmud. The plant even merits a mention in the Shi Jing, the Chinese 'Book of Songs,' compiled nearly 3,000 years ago. The list of therapeutic properties attributed to watercress is nearly as a long as its literary pedigree. It is reportedly beneficial for people with ailments from rheumatism to hemorrhaging.

There is an equally good reason that watercress has moved to the background of our cultural imagination, though. It doesn't travel well. Watercress is an aquatic or semi-aquatic plant that bruises easily after harvesting. Accordingly, the plant doesn't present itself well on supermarket shelves.

Don't let that put you off, though. Despite being a little bruised and wilted, the watercress I picked up at Hannaford's still had an excellent flavor. I now rate watercress as one of those plants worth seeking out. Even when the leaves are slightly browned, watercress retains a mild nutty flavor. Alone or mixed with other greens, it lends a pleasant rounded flavor to salads – one that I would liken to sunflower shoots.

It tastes 'healthy.' But not in an off-putting way. I'm looking forward to playing around with it in soups and as a cooked vegetable.

Blue Cheese Watercress Salad

3 cups chopped watercress

2 tbls finely chopped onion

3 tbls sunflower seed (toasted, optional)

1 tps anise seed (toasted, optional)

1 tbls spicy mustard

1 tbls maple syrup

oil and vinegar to taste

3 tbls crumbled blue cheese

1. For toasted sunflower and/or anise seeds, bring a dry pan to medium-high heat. Once pan is hot, add seeds and toast for 30 seconds to one minute, stirring. Remove from heat as soon as you can smell the seeds toasting.

2. Combine all ingredient except blue cheese in a mix bowl and toss gently.

3. Spoon dressed salad onto serving plates. Add crumbled blue cheese on top.