Watercress soup and also watercress pesto

This is a watercress story. One day I found myself with a watercress surplus (I'm the surplus girl...) coming from a weekend salad where not all of them found their way. So I told myself: "let's make yourself a nice soup". Vegetables soups are not among my favourite dishes, but I was trying to lead a healthy life and... get rid of my surplus.

After some research here and there, I came up with this recipe:

Watercress soup

• 4 good watercress handfuls
• 3 medium potatoes
• 2 medium onions
• 1 cup of broth+1 cup of water
• 2 pinches curry
• 2 tablespoons non-sugar almond butter(instead of creammmm, this is a very healthy soup
• Salt to taste

First stir-fry the onions in olive oil. When they're wilted, add the potatoes, peeled and cut in cubes along with the broth. I used homemade broth, which is always best. I only had one cup, that's why I had to supplement with the water at the end. It will be tastier if all the liquid you add is broth. You've got to adjust the liquid at the end, because the thickness depends mostly on the potatoes and also on your own liking.

Boil until the potatoes are tender and add the curry and the almond butter just before the soup is done. Then turn off the heat and add the raw watercress. Mix everything until smooth. The watercress must not boil, then the nutrients are left intact and also adds some crunch to the soup. It's very comforting, even if you're not a big vegetable soup fan like me.

And... I still had watercress left! So I thought it would be a brilliant idea to use it in some pesto... My idea was not as original as I thought as first. A brief research in the net yielded several recipes... well, several hundreds I should say... I had regarded myself as a very imaginative and original personal for a while... another disappointment in my life... and my friends and relatives don't understand why I drink lambrusco, pfff.

Watercress pesto from UK TV Food

• 30 g watercress
• 1-2 cloves garlic, peeled (depends on whether you are travelling to Transilvania after the meal or not)
• 40 g Parmesan cheese, grated
• 30 g pine kernels
• 75 ml extra virgin olive oil

Grate the Parmesan cheese with any gadget you prefer. Then put it in a mixer and add the pine kernels and the garlic and mix everything well. Finally add the watercresss and the oil and blend till the desired consistency. This is a very original and refreshing pesto, with a sour touch from the watercress. I will eat it tonight with some very delicious chestnut gnocchi I have in the freezer...