Watercress And Walnut Salad With Herb Dressing Recipes

WATERCRESS, WALNUT, AND ROQUEFORT SALAD

Steps:

• Make caramelized walnuts:
• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• In baking pan toast nuts in oven until golden and fragrant, about 10 minutes. In a small bowl stir together caramelized-walnuts ingredients and in a small nonstick skillet cook over moderate heat, stirring, until sugar caramelizes and coats nuts. Transfer mixture to a bowl and cool. Break walnuts apart.
• Make dressing:
• Mince and mash garlic to a paste with salt and in a bowl whisk with mustard and lemon juice. Add oils in a slow stream, whisking until emulsified and whisk in tarragon and salt and pepper to taste.
• Trim endive and cut into julienne strips. Discard coarse stems from watercress and toss with endive and dressing. Top salad with Roquefort and walnuts.

WATERCRESS SALAD WITH GRILLED ONIONS, PEPPERS AND SPICY CANDIED WALNUTS

Steps:

• Heat 2 tablespoons vegetable oil in a heavy skillet over medium heat. Add cayenne and sugar and stir until sugar dissolves. Add walnuts and stir until coated. Continue stirring until walnuts are toasted. Using a slotted spoon, transfer walnuts to foil-lined sheet and cool.
• Whisk walnut oil, vinegar and 3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro in a medium bowl until well blended. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Prepare barbecue (medium high heat). Combine 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, onion wedges and pepper strips in large bowl. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Grill vegetables until tender and blackened in spots. Transfer to large bowl. Add watercress. Toss with dressing. Arrange on platter. Garnish with candied walnuts.

WATERCRESS, ROCKET, SWEET PEAR, WALNUT AND PARMESAN SALAD

Steps:

• What a pukka combination, simple and classy. Don't try to make this when you feel like it, make it when you can buy perfect pears, otherwise it will taste naff. For 1 person I normally use around 1/2 a pear, 2 big handfuls of watercress and 2 big handfuls of rocket. If the pear skins are nice I just give them a wash, if not I remove them with a peeler. Then cut them in 1/2 and deseed. It doesn't really matter how you cut them up. Sometimes in big rough chunks, maybe sliced up or even grated. Then place into a bowl with the watercress and rocket. The pepperiness of the leaves works so well with the sweetness of the pear. Drizzle with good extra-virgin olive oil just to coat, a small squeeze of lemon juice (because the pear juice is slightly acidic but very tasty), and season well with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Toss all this together and serve. Shave over Parmesan or pecornio, crumble your nuts over and tuck in. I love this salad with roasted meat or as a starter on its own.

ROASTED CAULIFLOWER SALAD WITH WATERCRESS, WALNUTS AND GRUYèRE

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 400 degrees. In a bowl, toss together the cauliflower, 2 tablespoons olive oil, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Spread the cauliflower on a baking sheet in a single layer. Roast, tossing occasionally, until tender and dark golden, 30 to 35 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes.
• In a small bowl, whisk together the vinegar with the remaining salt and pepper, and then whisk in the remaining oil.
• In a salad bowl, toss the watercress, cheese, nuts and warm cauliflower. Pour the vinaigrette over the salad and toss until well combined.

WATERCRESS, PEAR AND GORGONZOLA SALAD

Steps:

• Combine the onion, mustard, vinegar, honey, lemon juice and grapeseed oil in a food processor or blender. Purée until onion is very fine. Season with salt and pepper. Whisk in olive oil.
• Rinse and dry the watercress. In a large bowl, season watercress with salt and pepper and toss with the dressing. Arrange cheese and fruit on four salad plates and top with watercress.

WATERCRESS, PINK GRAPEFRUIT, AND WALNUT SALAD

Steps:

• Make the dressing: Whisk together ginger, garlic, lime juice, vinegar, sesame oil, and sugar in a small bowl. Gradually add olive oil, whisking constantly until fully combined. Set aside.
• Remove peel and pith from grapefruit. Holding over a medium bowl, carve out flesh between the membranes, letting segments drop into the bowl (you should have about 3/4 cup segments). Add watercress. Pour dressing over watercress and grapefruit; toss to coat. Sprinkle with walnuts. Season with salt and pepper.

SPRING SALAD WITH WATERCRESS DRESSING

Steps:

• Cook the potatoes in boiling salted water for 10-15 minutes until tender. Drain and halve when cool enough to handle; set aside. Blanch the shelled broad beans and the asparagus in boiling salted water for 2-3 minutes. Drain in a sieve and cool under running cold water. Drain again, fish out the asparagus, then peel off the hard outer skins from the beans - make a nick in the tops and pop the beans out. Blanch the shelled peas in a separate pan for 1 minute. Toss the asparagus, beans, peas, potatoes and prosciutto together.
• For the dressing, put all the ingredients in a blender or food processor and blitz until really smooth and bright green. Season with salt and pepper. To serve, toss the salad leaves with a spoonful or two of dressing and arrange on plates. Pile the vegetable mixture on top, season, then drizzle over the remaining dressing and scatter with the pecorino.

WATERCRESS SALAD WITH SOY-SESAME DRESSING

Steps:

• Trim the stalks from the watercress. Wash and spin dry the leaves. Rinse the endive and slice it lengthwise into thin slivers. Place the endive in a salad bowl with the watercress.
• Remove the pith from the orange segments and cut them into small pieces.
• In a small bowl, combine the garlic with the soy sauce, the vinegar and the sesame and olive oils. Crush the garlic into the dressing with a fork, and then remove it. Season the dressing to taste with salt and pepper.
• Toss the salad in the dressing and serve.

SIMPLE WATERCRESS SALAD

Steps:

• Combine vinegar, salt, and pepper in a salad bowl. Slowly whisk in oil. Add watercress and toss with vinaigrette to evenly coat. Serve immediately.