Best Watercress Soup Recipes

WATERCRESS SOUP

Steps:

• 1. Heat the oil in a large pan, add the onion and celery and sauté over a medium heat for 5 mins until pale golden. Stir in the potato and stock and bring to the boil. Cover and simmer for 10 mins or until the potato is tender.
• 2. Stir in the watercress, cover and cook for a further 5 mins or until the watercress is wilted. Transfer the soup to a food processor and blitz until smooth. Return the soup to the rinsed out pan add the milk, nutmeg, lemon juice and seasoning to taste. Gently reheat until piping hot and serve with crusty bread.

WATERCRESS SOUP

Steps:

• Heat a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add oil and garlic, cook until sizzling and fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in potato and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Cook 1 minute.
• Add stock and 1 1/2 cups of water and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes. Stir in watercress. Return to a boil. Reduce to a simmer for 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper. Divide among soup bowls and squeeze a lemon wedge into each bowl. Serve immediately.

WATERCRESS SOUP

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium high heat. Add the potato and onion, stirring to coat with the oil. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Reduce heat to medium, cover and heat for 5 minutes.
• Pour in the chicken stock and the milk, bring just to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes, or until potatoes are tender. Stir in the watercress and simmer, uncovered, for 4 to 5 minutes, or until watercress is just cooked.
• In small batches, transfer the soup to a blender or food processor and puree until smooth. Return the soup to the pot, season to taste, and ladle into individual bowls. (Note: Place in refrigerator if not serving at this point.)
• Top each serving with a dollop of whipped cream, if desired and garnish with watercress leaves.

WATERCRESS AND POTATO SOUP

Steps:

• Heat the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the shallot and cook, stirring, until tender, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the potato, garlic, thyme, 1/2 teaspoon salt and a few grinds of pepper and cook, stirring, until the potatoes are well coated, 2 to 3 minutes more. Pour in the broth and bring to a simmer.
• Simmer until the potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes, adjusting the heat as needed to maintain a simmer. Stir in the watercress and cook 5 minutes more. Remove from the heat, discard the thyme and let cool at least 5 minutes. Carefully puree until smooth with a handheld immersion blender or in 2 to 3 batches in a blender (do not fill the blender more than halfway full per batch).
• Stir in the cream and reheat the soup if necessary, adjusting the consistency and seasoning with additional water, salt and pepper.
• Serve hot sprinkled with almonds and chives.

CHILLED WATERCRESS, SPRING NETTLE, AND SORREL SOUP

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, warm the olive oil and butter over medium heat until the butter is foamy. Add the onion, leeks, garlic, and salt, and stir to coat. Let cook 10 minutes, then add 4 cups stock or water. Bring to a simmer. Add the watercress and nettles and simmer just until tender. Using a fine-mesh sieve over a bowl, strain the soup, separating the liquid from the solids, but reserve both. Transfer both to the refrigerator and cool 2 hours. Remove the separated cooled soup ingredients from the refrigerator and recombine. Puree the soup in batches in the food processor or in a blender, and add the sorrel leaves a little at a time. The soup will have some texture. When finished processing, taste for seasoning and adjust as needed. Refrigerate until ready to use.
• Transfer the soup to chilled bowls and garnish with a spoonful of crème fraîche, a drizzle of olive oil, and a few thin slices of leek tops or green garlic tops.

LEEK, PEA & WATERCRESS SOUP

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat. Add the leeks and garlic and fry for 7-10 mins or until softened and translucent.
• Pour in the hot stock and simmer for 5-10 mins. Stir through the watercress, reserving a few leaves for garnish, then the peas, and cook for 5 mins until wilted. Use a hand blender or processor and whizz until smooth. Stir through the lemon juice and zest, then season to taste. Stir through half the parsley. Ladle into bowls and top with the remaining parsley, reserved watercress and a drizzle of olive oil. Swirl through some crème fraîche, then serve with crusty bread, if you like.

CHINESE WATERCRESS AND PORK-BALL SOUP (A MAIN-COURSE SOUP)

Steps:

• Put the noodles in a mixing bowl and add warm water to cover. Let stand at least 30 minutes.
• Put the pork in another bowl and add the ginger, sugar, cornstarch, salt, pepper, Sherry and egg. Blend well.
• Lightly oil a plate that will fit in the top rack of a steamer. Shape the pork mixture into 16 to 18 round balls. Arrange them on the plate in the steamer and cover closely. Place the rack over boiling water and steam 20 minutes.
• Meanwhile, bring the broth to the boil.
• In a separate saucepan, bring enough water to the boil to cover the watercress when added. Cut off the tough stems of the watercress and discard. Add the watercress tops. Turn off the heat and let stand two minutes. Drain and chill in a basin of cold water. Drain and set aside.
• Drain the noodles and cut them approximately in half with scissors. Put them in a saucepan and add cold water to cover. Bring to the boil and let simmer 10 minutes. Place the noodles and watercress in the bottom of a soup tureen.
• Put the meat balls and broth in the tureen. Sprinkle with a little more freshly ground pepper, preferably white, and serve.

CREAM OF WATERCRESS SOUP

Steps:

• Melt butter and sauté onion until transparent.
• Add potato, watercress, milk and stock.
• Bring to boil, cover and simmer for 20 minutes
• Blend in a processor.
• Add cream and seasoning. Heat if needed.

POTATO AND ROASTED GARLIC SOUP WITH WHEAT BERRY, WATERCRESS, AND ENDIVE SALAD

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400°F.
• On a flat surface smash garlic heads, root ends up, with palm of hand to break up cloves, leaving peels intact. Put garlic on a sheet of foil and drizzle with 1 tablespoon oil. Sprinkle garlic with salt and pepper to taste and wrap tightly in foil. Bake garlic in middle of oven 40 minutes, or until very tender. Unwrap garlic carefully and let stand until cool enough to handle. In a bowl squeeze roasted garlic out of cloves by squeezing one end, discarding skin.
• In a kettle cook onions in remaining tablespoon oil over moderate heat until softened. Peel and cut potatoes into 1/2-inch pieces and add to kettle with water. Bring water to a simmer and cook potatoes, covered, stirring occasionally, until very tender, about 20 minutes.
• Transfer half of potatoes with cooking liquid to a bowl and in a blender, in batches, purée with garlic until smooth. Transfer mixture as puréed to kettle, stirring, and season soup with salt and pepper. Soup may be made 1 day ahead, cooled completely, and chilled, covered.
• In a large bowl whisk together vinegar, scallion purée, and salt and pepper to taste.
• In a saucepan bring water with wheat berries and salt to a gentle boil. Cook wheat berries, uncovered, adding more water if necessary, 1 1/4 hours, or until just tender. Drain wheat berries in a sieve and add to vinegar mixture, tossing to combine well. Let mixture cool. Wheat berry mixture may be made 1 day ahead and chilled, covered. Bring wheat berry mixture to room temperature before proceeding.
• In a kettle heat soup over moderate heat, stirring, until hot. In a large bowl toss watercress and endives with wheat berry mixture and season with salt and pepper. Pour soup into 8 serving bowls and garnish each with 1/2 tablespoon scallion purée. Serve soup and salad with bread.
• In a saucepan heat 1/4 cup oil over moderate heat and cook scallions just until tender and bright green in color (do not let brown). In a blender purée scallion mixture with remaining 1/4 cup oil until smooth. Season scallion purée with salt and pepper and let cool. Makes about 3/4 cup.

POTATO, LEEK AND WATERCRESS SOUP WITH BAY SCALLOPS

Steps:

• In a medium saucepan, cover 1/2 of the potatoes with cold water and a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil and blanch until tender, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat, drain and reserve.
• In a large pot over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the onions and leeks and stir. Cover the pot and saute the onions and leeks until they are translucent, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Uncover, and add the raw potatoes, the bouquet garni, salt and pepper, chicken stock and cream, and stir. Bring the soup to a simmer over medium heat, uncovered. Simmer until the potatoes are soft, cooking for about 15 minutes. Remove from heat.
• Using a blender, puree the soup in batches. Taste for seasoning and adjust with salt and pepper. Return the soup to the pot, add the blanched potatoes, and place over medium heat. When the soup begins to simmer, add the watercress and scallops, and cook for 30 seconds, stirring once. Ladle the soup into hot bowls and sprinkle with chives. Serve immediately.

WATERCRESS AND LEEK SOUP

Steps:

• In a medium saucepan, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium. Add leeks and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, 4 to 6 minutes. Add broth, potato, and 4 cups water. Bring to a boil; reduce to a simmer and cook, partially covered, until potato is tender, 10 to 12 minutes.
• Add 2 bunches watercress and cook until bright green and tender, about 3 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer vegetables and a little liquid to a blender; puree until smooth and pour into a bowl. Puree remaining liquid in blender and return to pot. Stir in pureed vegetables and season soup with salt.
• In a small bowl, whisk together 1 tablespoon oil and lemon juice and season with salt and pepper. Add remaining watercress and toss. Serve soup topped with watercress.

POTATO-LEEK SOUP WITH FENNEL AND WATERCRESS

Steps:

• Warm the oil in a soup pot.
• Add the leeks and saute.
• Add the fennel and potatoes and continue to saute.
• Add the stock and bring to a simmer.
• Cook until all the vegetables are completely softened.
• Add watercress, cooking it until it's wilted but still bright green.
• Use a handheld blender until smooth.
• Add the salt and white pepper.
• Enjoy!
• For Vegetarian use vegetable broth.

CHINESE PORK AND WATERCRESS SOUP

Steps:

• Cook pork, garlic and ginger.
• Add chicken stock, scallions, sherry, soy sauce and rice. Heat to boiling. Simmer for 2 minutes.
• Stir in watercress. Discard ginger.

CHILLED CELERY, WATERCRESS AND FENNEL SOUP

Steps:

• Melt butter in large pot over medium heat. Add celery, onion, fennel, garlic and ginger. Cover pot. Cook until vegetables are almost tender, stirring occasionally, about 20 minutes. Add broth and wine. Bring to boil. Cover and simmer until vegetables are tender, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and mix in watercress. Let stand 5 minutes. Working in batches, puree soup in blender until smooth. Transfer to large bowl. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate until cold, at least 4 hours. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and keep refrigerated.)
• Ladle soup into bowls. Top with dollop of yogurt, if desired.

CREAM OF WATERCRESS SOUP WITH PAN-SEARED SCALLOPS

Steps:

• Melt 3 tablespoons butter in heavy large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add leeks and potatoes; sauté until leeks are tender, about 4 minutes. Add chicken 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.
• Working in batches, puree soup in 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).
• Melt remaining 1 tablespoon butter with oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add scallops to skillet and cook until golden brown and just cooked through, about 2 minutes per side. Sprinkle scallops with salt and pepper.
• Ladle soup into bowls. Place 1 scallop atop soup in each bowl. Garnish with watercress sprigs and serve.

EASY WATERCRESS AND LEEK SOUP

Steps:

• Bring stock, leeks, potato, and garlic to a boil in a medium pot. Reduce heat to medium; cook until leeks are tender and potato is soft, about 15 minutes. Add chopped watercress; cook until beginning to soften, about 2 minutes.
• Puree the stock and vegetables in a blender until smooth (work in batches, if necessary, to avoid filling blender more than halfway). Season with salt and pepper. Top each serving with sour cream, and garnish with watercress, if desired.

BLACK-EYED PEA SOUP WITH HAM AND WATERCRESS

Steps:

• Pour 1 tablespoon of the oil into a deep skillet or casserole and turn the heat to medium-high. Add the meat and cook, stirring, for a minute; then add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until it softens and begins to brown, about 10 minutes. Add the peas and 4 cups water and bring to a boil; turn the heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, until the peas are completely tender--10 minutes for cooked or canned black-eyed peas, about 30 minutes for frozen.
• Stir in the watercress and cook, stirring occasionally, for just a couple of minutes, or until it wilts. Add more water, if necessary. Taste and adjust the seasoning, stir in the remaining tablespoon oil, and serve.
• With Minimal effort: The meat can be prosciutto or ham; you can use bacon or pancetta instead, but cook them a little longer. Instead of onion, you can use garlic, leek, or shallots. Black-eyed peas are the traditional choice, but any legume will work perfectly well. For the watercress, substitute arugula or spinach, or any winter green, like kale, mustard, collards, and turnips, all of which will take a little longer to cook--add them to the soup along with the peas. Liquid condiments, like Tabasco or another hot sauce or vinegar, are good here. Increase the amount of meat to 1/2 pound or so (this is especially good with ham), double the amount of greens, and cook the soup until it's thick; you can call it a stew.

CREAM OF POTATO SOUP WITH WATERCRESS

Steps:

• Melt butter in heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add potatoes and onions. Stir until coated with butter, about 1 minute. Sprinkle flour over; stir 1 minute. Add 2 3/4 cups broth and milk. Cover pan. Boil gently until potatoes and onions are tender, about 10 minutes.
• Puree soup in batches in blender. Return to pan. Add 1 3/4 cups watercress. Bring back to simmer. Season with salt and pepper. Thin with more broth, if desired.
• Lade soup into bowls. Garnish with remaining 1/2 cup watercress.

CORN, WATERCRESS & POTATO SOUP

Steps:

• Thoroughly rinse and drain dark-green leek tops; transfer to a pot. Remove husks and silks from corn, rinse and drain them, and transfer to pot. Strip corn from cobs and transfer cobs to pot (reserving kernels). Add 8 cups water, 2 teaspoons salt, and whole peppercorns to pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer 5 minutes. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve, discarding solids and reserving broth (you should have about 6 cups).
• Slice white and light-green parts of leeks; submerge in water and agitate with your hands to dislodge any dirt, then thoroughly drain. Wipe pot clean; add oil and heat over medium. Add sliced leeks and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, until leeks are very soft but not developing any color (if color begins to develop, reduce heat), about 10 minutes. Add potato, 4 cups reserved broth, and reserved corn kernels to pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until potato is easily pierced with the tip of a knife, about 15 minutes. Stir in all but a handful of watercress; simmer 2 minutes.
• Transfer soup to a blender with miso and vinegar; purée until smooth. (Be careful blending the hot liquid: Remove feed cap from blender lid and cover with a kitchen towel to let steam escape, and purée in two batches if necessary.) Season to taste and thin with more broth, if necessary, to reach desired consistency. Serve warm or chilled, topped with blanched corn kernels, remaining watercress, a drizzle of oil, flaky salt, and ground pepper.

WATERCRESS SOUP (JULIA CHILD)

Steps:

• When measuring the watercress leaves and stems, pack them down in the measuring cup.
• Simmer leeks, potatoes, water and salt together, partially covered, 40-50 minutes until vegetables are tender.
• Stir in watercress and simmer 5 minutes.
• While the watercress is simmering, you can prepare the following optional garnish if you wish: a small handful of watercress leaves boiled 30 seconds, rinsed in cold water and drained.
• Mash the vegetables in the soup with a fork, or puree in blender. Correct seasoning.
• Off heat and just before serving, stir in cream or butter by spoonfuls. Decorate with the optional watercress leaves.