Cress of the wave

AFTER decades of being pushed to the edge of the plate as nothing more than a garnish, watercress is suddenly enjoying a renaissance. Chefs are using the peppery little salad leaf in myriad ways.

Watercress is bursting with goodness - its health benefits have been known since ancient times. Greek general Xenophon insisted that his soldiers ate it as a tonic and Hippocrates, the father of medicine, chose the location of his first hospital because of its proximity to a stream - so he could use only the freshest watercress to treat his patients.

Gram for gram, watercress is a better source of vitamins C, B1, B6, K and E, iron, calcium magnesium, manganese and zinc than apples, tomatoes and cooked broccoli. It’s got more iron than spinach, more vitamin C than oranges and more calcium than whole milk.

It’s also a brilliant detox ingredient; the peppery mustard oils boost and regulate the activity of the liver’s enzymes. Watercress is packed with betacarotene and vitamin A equivalents, which are great for healthy skin and eyes. It provides iodine and most B vitamins, including folic acid which is important for a healthy pregnancy. Watercress is also naturally low in calories and fat. Apparently, Elizabeth Hurley drinks up to six cups of watercress soup a day when she’s on one of her famous diets, so how about that for a recommendation.

Ever since I was a child, I’ve loved the delicious peppery flavour of watercress. Every spring we used to pick it from the stream in the chapel meadows on the outskirts of the little village of Cullohill in Co Laois.

We ate it in sandwiches and salads, with tomatoes, hard boiled eggs, scallions and lots of salad cream. Old people always spoke about watercress in the same reverential tone they used for nettles, the other wild green which, according to ancient lore, “purifies the blood and keeps away the rheumatics for a year”.

What makes watercress unique is its high levels of a compound called phenylethl isothiocyanate, or PEITC. This gives the plant its peppery flavour, and in scientific studies has been shown to increase the body’s potential to resist certain carcinogens (cancer causing agents).

The UK national watercress week runs from May 15-21, with many varied events. Here are some of the recipes prepared specially by celebrity chef Antony Worrall Thompson for the week.