How to make watercress and radish soup

It's one of the oldest wild edible greens, and it's at it's best around now. Turn up the flavour with a little nutmeg and toasted sesame oil and top it with radishes for crunch

Stiring in crushed ice before blitzing the mixture is the key to keeping the radiant green colour (Beverley Hicks)

This beautiful vibrant green soup packs a flavour punch with its combination of peppery watercress and spicy radishes. The toasted sesame oil adds a slight aromatic nuttiness that if you didn’t know it was in there you may struggle to identify.

Watercress is available all year round but is most prolific in the early to mid-spring. It grows wild in ponds, streams and natural springs and is one of the oldest of the wild edible greens.

This vitamin, mineral and anti-oxidant rich ingredient has, gram for gram, more iron than spinach, more calcium than a glass of milk and more vitamin C than an orange. It is also a great source of vitamin K, needed for blood clotting, bone metabolism, and regulating blood calcium levels.

Watercress soup was first served to me by a friend’s mother when I was a teenager. I didn’t expect that this bowl of (not-so-vibrant) green soup would be anything other than bland, but it was punchy and had a taste I’d never experienced before (rocket wasn’t available back in the day).

I instantly fell in love with it. Her recipe included quite a lot of potatoes, which, when blended down, made the soup very creamy. I do still make that version, but this soup is more intensely peppery having no extra carbohydrates to bulk it out.

To make up for the lack of creaminess I’ve added a little butter at the beginning and the end of the cooking process, but this can be left out if you want a "cleaner" flavour.

This versatile dark leafy green can be eaten raw in salads, stir-fried, pureed into soups, chopped into salsas and it also makes a delicious dip wilted down and blended with crème fraîche, lime juice, salt and pepper.

(Beverley Hicks)

Watercress and radish soup

Serves 4

1 medium leek
½ tablespoon rapeseed oil
40 g butter
1 stick celery, finely chopped
3 fat garlic cloves, minced
200g radishes, roughly chopped
500 ml hot vegetable stock
225 g watercress, thick stems removed
½ teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
250 g crushed ice
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper

To serve

4 radishes, finely sliced
Watercress sprigs
Handful toasted sesame seeds
Toasted sesame oil 

Finely chop the leek and rinse in a colander under cold running water to remove any dirt between the layers.

Heat the oil and half of the butter in a large saucepan over a medium heat. Add the drained leeks, celery and garlic and sauté until soft. Tip in the radishes and cook for a further 1-2 minutes. Pour in the hot stock and bring to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes.

Roughly chop the watercress and add to the soup with the nutmeg, sesame oil and remaining butter. Increase the heat and let it bubble vigorously for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat, add the ice and stir until completely melted, this will help the soup to keep its beautifully vivid green colour. Puree the soup with an immersion blender until smooth and creamy. This can be covered and refrigerated for 2-3 days, or used immediately.

Reheat just before serving. Taste the soup and adjust the seasoning if necessary. Ladle into warmed bowls and top each with some finely sliced radishes, a few sprigs of watercress, a sprinkle of toasted sesame seeds and a drizzle of toasted sesame oil.

Follow Beverley Hicks @littlechelseakitchen