A recipe for watercress, mint and goat’s cheese salad

When I was a child, I used to pick watercress with my family. The stream where it grew was extremely cold, so my memory is not of eating delicious watercress, but of wondering whether I would ever feel my toes again. Today, I appreciate this peppery native leaf much more.



Springtime salad of watercress, goat's cheese and mint

Watercress, mint, and goat's cheese salad

2 handfuls of watercress
10 or so mint leaves
Soft goat’s or sheep’s cheese (I used Golden Cross Cheese’s Chabis)
Juice of half a lemon
1 tbs olive oil
Salt
Tomatoes (optional)

The secret to this salad is balancing the watercress’ heat against the mint’s freshness and the cheese’s creaminess. The watercress I used was quite mild, so I used a very mild cheese and not too much mint.

Wash the watercress and put it in a bowl, tear up the mint leaves and add them, tear the cheese into small pieces and add them. Sprinkle over the lemon juice, the olive oil and the salt. Toss together and serve.

Tomatoes add a really nice juiciness to the salad but they’re not in season at the moment – mine came from the supermarket and were grown in Spain.

Same salad with a few tomatoes added