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AMERICAN LAND CRESS

Great to use in a salad, as an addition to a soup or as a garnish (see below for a recipe using Watercress I discovered on the internet – maybe substitute with Land Cress). Great in egg sandwiches too ...!

Much grown in England in the 17th century but fell from fashion and richly deserves a revival.

Today in my garden, I harvested seed from my pot of American Land Cress. I discovered this great substitute for Watercress when I bought a packet for a relative to try, and ended up with a pot grown plant from her to myself. In fact I had forgotten about it, as once it had gone to seed I buried it in a border to get the benefit from the pretty yellow flowers it had produced, only rediscovering it again when I was having a general tidy up. Gone were the flowers, being replaced by lovely dried seed heads, even after cutting these off I can still use the original plant as fresh growth has sprouted from the base which is still usable. At this time of year the leaves are extremely fiery but in different seasons it has a milder taste to it.

American Land Cress can be sown at just about any time of the year, maybe sow some soon for use over the winter, it can put up with the cold, but maybe cover with fleece in chillier regions.

A Recipe - Watercress Butter

What to use:
Unsalted butter – (4 oz) 125g, softened
Watercress leaves – (1 oz) 25g, finely chopped
Fresh lemon juice
1 tsp Ground black pepper
1/4 tsp Cayenne pepper

How to make:
In a food processor blend the butter, watercress leaves, lemon juice, black pepper and cayenne pepper until the mixture is very smooth. Let the mixture stand for about 30 minutes at room temperature or chill it, but bring it back to room temperature before using.