I am a big fan of watercress- it has the round leaves of spinach and comes in nice bite size pieces so you don’t have to cut the leaves beforehand, and the leaves and stems are tender. The taste has the spicy pepperiness like arugula but not as mustardly or with a bitter undertone- more like a hint of wasabi. It is perfectly a mix of both worlds. I was surprised when browsing the PSU Portland Farmers Market on opening day that I saw that one of the stands already had watercress, and I was excited to have this still healthy alternative to all the kale in the market.

I use watercress wherever I might use spinach or arugula, usually slightly wilted on top to finish off a dish. Watercress Sandwiches are one thing I do use these greens for that I do not use spinach or arugula. I have also made watercress and orange soup before, and look forward to making this watercress cauliflower soup from Martha Stewart with my next batch of watercress.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of watercress, plus more for garnish (I used another 1/2 cup)
• 1/4 cup parsley leaves, chopped
• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 4 ounces cream cheese or Neufchatel cheese, or tofu cream cheese
• 2 tablespoons chives, chopped
• 1 teaspoon of lemon juice
• 1/4 teaspoon of freshly ground pepper
• Sliced bread, or baguettes or crackers, etc as your vehicle… The original recipe calls for 8 slices of regular white bread which you remove the crust and then cut into quarters to make tea sandwiches. I used thick artisan bread and made open face sandwiches instead.

Directions:

1. Finely chop 1 cup of the watercress and parsley together. I admit the original recipe is 1/2 cup, but I wanted more watercress flavor. Then blend these with butter, lemon juice, cream cheese, chives, and ground pepper. Blend until the mixture is smooth.
   
2. Let the mixture alone to develop the flavors for 30 minutes at room temperature, or chill overnight and let come to room temperature later.
   
3. Spread the watercress cheese mixture on the bread too make into sandwiches. Use the other 1/2 cup of watercress atop the watercress cheese spread bread (I took this photo after topping the right side, but I topped the other side too).
   

Easy yum! Obviously I made an open face sandwich because I was using thick Fressen Artisan Jogger bread (with Unbleached White Flour, Yeast, Sea Salt, Pumpkin Seed, Flaxseed, Sesame Seed, and Sunflower Seed) and I wanted to extend every bite of the thick seedy bread with watercress. If you are going to close the sandwiches, for aesthetic purposes consider making sure some of the leaves are along the edges so it can be seen when you close the them. Slice diagonally into quarters, and you can add any extra little springs for garnish on top of the sandwiches too if you’d like.

For some English fanciness, serve these on sandwiches that are cut into small bite size pieces with no crusts, on a platter with egg salad sandwiches and cucumber and dill cream cheese sandwiches, and some tea.

You can also put these on baguettes or crackers for your vehicle of this watercress cheese goodness to your mouth.