watercress salad

This watercress salad is the perfect balance of peppery, crispy, juicy and crunchy. We toss delicate watercress with juicy citrus segments, crunchy marcona almonds, goat cheese and a smattering of edible flowers.

The dressing is light and simple-- enough to sweeten the mustardy notes of watercress and balance the citrus. But not heavy or overpowering for the delightful crispy watercress leaves.

You can easily modify this salad any way you want: toss in some buttery avocado chunks, substitute pistachios for the almonds, mix in a few handfuls of baby kale for extra texture.

And by all means, take or leave the edible flowers. They’re beautiful accents, they add a fun spice to the salad, and growing them is my new pet project. But sourcing fresh edible flowers is tricky and they absolutely will not make or break this salad!

watercress salad ingredients:

how to make this watercress salad:

1. Trim, wash and dry watercress.
2. Segment oranges and grapefruit.
3. Chop almonds.
4. Make salad dressing: whisk together orange juice, white balsamic, honey, salt, pepper, olive oil.
5. Assemble salad: toss watercress with some dressing. Layer with citrus segments, goat cheese, almonds, and edible flowers. Drizzle with more dressing and serve!

what is watercress?

Watercress is a delicate leafy vegetable that is crisp and peppery. Once you try it, you’ll instantly recognize it as a part of the mustard family: it can have the same pungent bite!

Unlink some greens, watercress isn’t just for salads. It’s great in soups, sandwiches, pitas, omelets and frittatas, stir-fries, risotto, pizza! Try it anywhere you would try spinach. 

And while I love it for the taste and texture (which I enjoy WAY more than fresh spinach), watercress was recently dubbed the world’s healthiest food and scored 100/100 in the CDC’s vegetable ranking! What’s not to love here?

how to prepare watercress for salad:

When you purchase watercress, if can be available by the bunch or in a bag (generally pre-washed).

If yours is in a bunch, place it in a jar of water (like flowers!), loosely cover the leaves and store in the fridge for a few days. It wilts quickly and benefits from a constant source of water.

You can also wrap it up in damp paper towels and store it in a ziptop bag in the fridge.

For bunch watercress, cut off and discard thick stems. Rinse the leaves in cold water and gently pat or spin dry. 

Watercress is extra-delicate and the leaves can bruise easily. I prefer to toss it with dressing just before serving to minimize any damage or wilting.

watercress substitute:

Baby arugula is one of the closest substitutes to watercress. It has a similar peppery flavor, though the texture isn’t quite as crisp as watercress.

To be honest, though, you can use any baby greens or lettuce you want here. Baby spinach, baby kale, baby mustard greens. Anything tender and tiny will work great!

more leafy salads to try!

arugula apple salad

butter lettuce salad

herb salad

tuscan kale salad

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