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Watercress

You can eat watercress raw or cooked – it’s great in salads, sandwiches, wilted in stir fries or one-pot dishes, served raw or cooked with a roast, added to soups and more! It’s packed full of nutrients, and it is slightly bitter and a little chewy, perfect paired with creamy dressings or stirred through creamy meals or egg mayonnaise sandwiches in place of salad cress. They are a fun shape for kids to explore, too!
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Watercress is packed full of nutrients, so much so that it is thought that the ‘father of medicine’ Hippocrates used to grow watercress by his first hospital to use as treatment!

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Nutrition

Watercress is a powerhouse of nutrients but to name a few are Vitamins A and K and Potassium. Potassium helps your body regulate your heartbeat and blood pressure.

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Shopping Guide

When selecting bunches of watercress look for leaves that have a bright green colour and firm stems.

 

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Storage

To store watercress, if it’s in a bag, just pop the bag in the fridge and use within a couple of days. If you bought a bunch, you can get it to last a few extra days by popping stalks-down into a glass of water.




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Preparation

You can eat watercress raw or cooked – it’s great in salads, sandwiches, wilted in stir fries or one-pot dishes, served raw or cooked with a roast, added to soups and more!

Kids in the Kitchen

For a younger child, why not show them how to wash and dry the watercress to serve with tea?

For an older child, it could be a great opportunity to teach them how to make a basic dressing that can go with any salad leaves! Mix ½ tsp mustard, 2 tablespoons vinegar and a good 6-8 tablespoons oil in a jar, screw the lid on tight and shake until combined. You can vary it up by replacing some or all of the vinegar with lemon or lime juice, the oil with yogurt or sour cream, or adding dried herbs or even chilli flakes. Let them kids pick what they want to add and make salad with dinner more appealing!

Find more ideas for involving kids in the kitchen here.

Sensory

Watercress is great to explore by touch and sight. Maybe compare a few different salad leaves including watercress (you could buy a bag of mixed leaves for this). How do they look similar? How do they look different? If you can, getting a couple of crunchy types such as iceberg lettuce vs softer kinds like watercress make for a great experience exploring through sound (crunch when you bite or snap the veg), too. If your child feels up to tasting it, try it with a few different kinds of lettuce and rank from “spiciest” or “pepperiest” to mildest.

Find more sensory ideas, tips and videos here.

Serving

If your child has helped you make a watercress pesto, sandwich or salad, why not have them serve it up, too? Or suggest they come up with a funny name for the meal they can share with everyone when it’s served.

Find the best ways of involving your own child and their skills and interests on our Roles for Kids page.

Activities

Why not try making a veg landscape picture? Use a plate or baking tray to create an edible jungle or grassland or forest from the watercress leaves and some other veggies!

Kids more into science? Watercress is a perfect first veg to grow as it is so simple. Make it even more fun by growing watercress shapes: lay some paper towels over a tray or baking tray and place a few cookie cutters on top. Sprinkle or gently pour water over until the paper towels are wet. Sprinkle watercress seeds into the cookie cutter shapes on the wet paper towel. Watch them grow! You may need to sprinkle a little extra water every now and then, but within a week or two you should have some fun watercress shapes. Keep a video or written diary to see the changes over time.

You can find more at-home science fun with veg with our videos from Stefan Gates’ here.

Find more activities ideas on our arts & crafts and puzzles & games pages.

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Seasonality

Buying veg in season is not only great for the planet, it can be good for your wallet, too! Try buying watercress in the late spring and summer to get the leaves with the most flavour at the best price.

Coming In:

March

At Its Best:

April - September

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Your Food

Watercress is slightly bitter and peppery but milder than many green leaves, so will suit kids with those preferences! Make sure to try it both cooked and raw as it tastes completely different). Whether you are blitzing it for colour, frying or steaming briefly with aromatics like garlic, ginger, lemon juice, soy sauce or others, or adding handfuls at the last minute to stews, sauces, soups or stir fries, there are loads of different ways to eat this veg. Find some inspiration below…

Recipe Inspiration

Mac ‘N’ Cheese

Effort: 1
Complexity: 1
Cost: 1

Family Favourites

Sausage and Mash

Effort: 1
Complexity: 1
Cost: 1

Family Favourites

Stir Fry

Effort: 1
Complexity: 1
Cost: 1

Family Favourites

Chris’ Chicken and Watercress Salad with Eggs and Harissa Yogurt

Effort: 2
Complexity: 2
Cost: 4

Chris Wheeler

Neil’s Asparagus and Soft-Boiled Eggs, Watercress & Radish

Effort: 2
Complexity: 2
Cost: 3

Neil Forbes

Alexia’s Minted Pea & Watercress Soup

Effort: 3
Complexity: 2
Cost: 2

Alexia Robinson

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If You Like Watercress…Try

Does your child enjoy watercress? That’s great! Watercress is peppery and slightly chewy and soft, so why not try a similar texture and/or taste…

The Wonderful World of Veg

Check out our vegepedia. When to buy in-season. How to store them to keep for longer. How to engage children with each veg, and simple ideas of how to prepare and cook them for maximum taste and minimum waste. Select a veg…

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