Seabass, watercress pesto, toasted pine nuts

[karohemd]

I found some nice seabass fillets and when I saw the watercress various recipes I'd seen online clicked in my head.

I picked the watercress leaves and blitzed them with half a garlic glove and good olive oil, a bit of salt and pepper and then toasted the pine nuts in a dry frying pan. The fillets were simply pan-fried for two minutes on the skin side (they were rather thin), seasoned with salt and pepper and flipped to just cook the underside.

I'm really happy with how this came out. :D

Comments

[acelightning]

Watercress is good in a stir-fry. You don't absolutely have to pull the leaves off the stems, but the stems can be rather tough and they don't add much flavor. Just stir-fry it in a bit of oil with whatever seasonings you're using, just until it turns darker green and wilts a bit; remove it from the pan with a slotted spoon or strainer, then stir-fry whatever else you're using in the same oil, and add the watercress back in at the end. I generally do it in Chinese sesame oil with ginger and hot pepper, using chunks of chicken breast as the other component, and some soy sauce and Chinese cooking wine.

And if you're into tea sandwiches, watercress is classic. For this, you do have to use only the leaves. Get some homemade-quality white bread, sliced thin. Cut the crusts off the slices. Spread one slice generously with soft butter, then cover it with a thick layer of watercress leaves. Butter another slice of bread and make it into a sandwich. Cut in fourths, either crosswise or diagonally. Repeat until you have enough for your afternoon tea. Arrange the sandwiches attractively on a plate and garnish with more watercress leaves, or whatever else looks elegant. Although this sounds deceptively simple, there's a wonderful interplay of flavors between the earthiness of the bread, the creaminess of the butter, and the slightly bitter, slightly peppery taste of the fresh watercress. Enjoy!

[sid]

I've heard of watercress sandwiches! I can't imagine an occasion where I would be making them for a crowd, but if I ever buy watercress for pesto or stirfry I must remember to try some on nicely buttered bread. Thanks!

[acelightning]

You may see recipes for watercress sandwiches using cream cheese - one version even calls for chopping the watercress and blending it into the cream cheese, then just making sandwiches out of that. But the classic, fancy "ladies' afternoon tea" version calls for butter. This is food to be eaten with one's pinkie extended :-)