I found some flowering watercress at the Farmers market this week, so I decided to make it the star of the blog post! There isn’t much to say about watercress except how simple it is to enjoy it as a stand alone ingredient, or mixed into all kinds of stuff. I pulled some tomatoes and basil from the garden and came up with this simple salad that will add some delicious color and quality nutrition to any summer table. You can make your own cheese fairly quickly, or look for an artisan vegan cheesemaker like Blöde Kuh, or use your favorite fresh cheese that you think would go great with garden tomatoes and watercress.
(scroll down for interactive, printable recipe card, grocery list and more!)
tomato & watercress salad with basil cashew cheese
About 3-6 tomatoes of varying sizes 2 cups watercress 2 tbsp. fresh lemon juice 3 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil 1 clove garlic, minced 3-4 tbsp. basil cashew cheese or any fresh cheese that would go great with tomatoes Sea salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
Slice the larger tomatoes into slices, medium into halves, and for the small tomatoes, leave whole or halve if that seems to work better. Rinse and pat dry the watercress, and leave in whole stems with lots of leaves. Remove the bottom parts of the stems if they are not tender. In a small bowl, mix the lemon juice, olive oil, garlic. Dip the tomatoes into the dressing so they get just a bit of dressing flavor. Arrange the tomatoes on a plate to your liking. Spoon some of the cheese over some of the slices of tomatoes. Dip the watercress into the dressing the same way you did with the tomatoes, shaking off any excess dressing. Place the watercress in the center of the plate. The tomatoes and watercress can also be tossed together, with the cheese drizzled on top or placed around the salad on the plate. Sprinkle with the salt and pepper, and drizzled the remaining dressing around the plate for more dressing flavor. Serve immediately.
Tomato & Watercress Salad with Basil Cashew Cheese
Ingredients
- About 3-6 tomatoes of varying sizes
- 2 cups watercress
- 2 tbsp. lemon juice fresh squeezed
- 3 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 3-4 tbsp. basil cashew cheese or any fresh cheese that would go great with tomatoes
- Sea salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
Instructions
- Slice the larger tomatoes into slices, medium into halves, and for the small tomatoes, leave whole or halve if that seems to work better.
- Rinse and pat dry the watercress, and leave in whole stems with lots of leaves. Remove the bottom parts of the stems if they are not tender.
- In a small bowl, mix the lemon juice, olive oil, garlic.
- Dip the tomatoes into the dressing so they get just a bit of dressing flavor. Arrange the tomatoes on a plate to your liking.
- Spoon some of the cheese over some of the slices of tomatoes.
- Dip the watercress into the dressing the same way you did with the tomatoes, shaking off any excess dressing. Place the watercress in the center of the plate. The tomatoes and watercress can also be tossed together, with the cheese drizzled on top or placed around the salad on the plate.
- Sprinkle with the salt and pepper, and drizzled the remaining dressing around the plate for more dressing flavor. Serve immediately.