Watercress

Watercress is a tender leafy green with small round dark-green leaves and slender hollow stems. Peppery and crisp with a watery snap, it brings a mustardy bite to salads, sandwiches, and cold soups; it also purées smoothly for pestos and sauces and wilts quickly in hot dishes. Sold in bunched sprigs or hydroponic clamshells with roots attached.\n\nNative to Europe and western Asia, watercress spread through Britain and the Mediterranean and later to North America. It features in British tea sandwiches and soups, and in Chinese and Vietnamese stir-fries and brothy soups. Modern growers cultivate it in flowing spring water or recirculating hydroponic systems.