Summer days are here, which means hot humid Chicago weather, trips to the pool with the kids – and watercress soup! I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I love watercress for its delicious flavor, awesome color, and last but not least nutritional benefits. Watercress is such an amazing nutrient-packed green, but it’s so underrated it makes me sad. Ever since starting this blog I’ve been on a mission to make watercress more popular (check out my posts here, here and here), and my mission’s still going strong. Proof: I’m posting this watercress soup, one of our family’s all-time favorite summer treats 😉
Watercress soup is a work of wonder which requires very little preparation. Getting your watercress fresh and vibrant green from the grocery stores is perhaps the most important step, since it is within its greenness that the nutritional benefits lie. In Chicagoland, you can find watercress at select specialized grocery stores – always worth making a quick phone call to the store of your choice to avoid a wasted trip. I found the bunch of watercress pictured below at Rich’s Fresh Market:
The recipe is straightforward, and the number of ingredients is kept to a minimum. I use potatoes to give the soup body and heavy cream for rich buttery flavor. You’ll also need a good blender to make this soup – I use my long tried and trusted Vitamix, which never fails to deliver silky smooth texture:
This soup preserves the nutritious properties of watercress (this is why watercress is added to the stock towards the end of cooking) as well as its gorgeous peppery taste and color. You can serve it with croutons for texture or finely chopped cucumber/shredded radish for color – or you can have both!
And here it is: watercress soup in all its glory. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do 🙂
| Prep Time | 10 minutes |
| Cook Time | 25 minutes |
| Servings |
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- 2 cups watercress leaves (stems removed)
- 2 medium size red potatoes, cut into cubes
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- 5 cups vegetable stock or water + extra, if needed
- 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1/2 cup ready-made croutons (optional)
- 1 tbsp shredded radish or finely chopped cucumber (optional)
- Salt and pepper to taste
Ingredients
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- Melt the butter in a soup pot. Add the onion and cook for a few minutes or until soft and translucent. Add potatoes and vegetable stock. Cook until the potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes. Add watercress at the end, and let it cook for approximately 1-2 minutes or until the watercress appears wilted. Move all ingredients with the liquid from the pot into a blender.
- Blend until coarse. Add heavy cream and continue to blend until uniform and velvety. Add more vegetable stock or water if the texture isn't silky, and blend for an extra 10-20 seconds. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve warm with a handful of croutons per bowl, garnished with bits of shredded radish, finely chopped cucumber - or both!
- Enjoy!
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