Watercress mash

The other day I bought a bunch of watercress at the market because it looked nice and just a few days before I had spotted some near a ditch in a field in Normandy.
Cress has a spicy taste and it is full of vitamins.

The problem is that you have relatively a lot of stem for a few leaves. That is why in many recipes the cress gets blanched first and then blended into a soup or cream, which somehow drowns the vitamins in calories if there are any vitamins left after cooking.
Raw cress takes a lot of work for cleaning but can yield an interesting salad.
In this recipe, I combine the watercress with potatoes, apples, onion and garlic as well as a fennel bulb, to create a tasty mash that accompanied grilled sardines.

Ingredients

• A bunch of watercress
• A fennel bulb
• Six potatoes
• Three apples
• One onion
• Three cloves of garlic
• Pepper, salt
• Olive oil, water

Steps

1. Wash and pick the cress so that you only keep the leaves, dry them in a spinner.
2. Peel the potatoes and put them in a pan with water, cook for 20 minutes.
3. Clean and cut the fennel, put in a pan with water and cook for 15 minutes.
4. Peel and quarter the apples.
5. Peel and mince the onion.
6. Peel and press the garlic.
7. Put the cooked potatoes, fennel and apple in a bowl and mash (you can use a plunger blender). Add some liquid like water or stock to soften the mash.
8. Heat some oil in a wok or large skillet, add the onion and garlic and stir until it starts to colour, add the cress and cook briefly while stirring.
9. Add to the mash and mix.
10. Twist some pepper, check for salt.