Today Brother Walter from Saint John’s Abbey came by the retreat center where I work to give me a bag of late watercress. He knows I love it– it’s the very first vegetable of the season, growing in the shallows of spring-fed lakes. This particular patch was planted, or maybe just discovered, by Father Godfrey Diekmann, another monk at Saint John’s Abbey who was known both for his role advocating for the vernacular in the Catholic Mass during the Second Vatican Council and his expertise in cultivating, finding and identifying mushrooms in the abbey’s woods. In year’s past I’ve gone out there with Brother Walter, wearing his high rubber boots, and held the bucket for harvesting.
I’ve been craving fresh greens, reading recipes for soups made with peas, spinach, mint, chives, even lettuces thrown in. With my bag of watercress, I knew what my next stop would be: to the food co-op for leeks. I had the rest of what I needed at home (including garden chives) and found an excellent watercress soup on epicurious.com. (The recipe calls for pan-seared scallops, but I just made the soup.) Here is the recipe as I made it (warning: I totally fudged the quantities).
Reviewers recommend the soup cold as well, and with such things as creme fraiche and caviar on top. They call it vichyssoise, which sounds better than Cream of Watercress I guess. I call it spring goodness!
Cream of Watercress Soup
3 tablespoons butter
2 large leeks (white and pale green parts only), chopped
4 red potatoes cut into 1-inch pieces (3 cups, I didn’t bother peeling them)
1 quart vegetable or chicken broth; 1/2 cup or so of white wine
2 bunches watercress, trimmed and large stems removed, coarsely chopped (3-4 cups)
1/2 cup sour cream or to your liking (I put in a couple Tbs.)
whole milk (to thin the soup, but my soup was plenty thin without milk)
chives (for garnish)
salt and pepper to taste
Watercress sprigs (for garnish)
Melt butter in heavy large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add leeks and potatoes; sauté until leeks are tender, about 4 minutes. Add broth. Bring to simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low. Cover; simmer until potatoes are tender, stirring occasionally, about 20 minutes. Remove from heat. Add chopped watercress. Cover; let stand until watercress wilts, about 5 minutes.
Puree the soup in blender or with stick blender. Return soup to saucepan. Whisk in sour cream. Thin soup with milk to desired consistency. Season to taste with salt and pepper. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cool slightly. Refrigerate uncovered until cold, then cover and refrigerate.) Stir soup over low heat just until heated through (do not boil).
Ladle soup into bowls. Garnish with watercress sprigs and/or chives and serve.