Watercress Salsa Verde Food

SPRING TARTS WITH WATERCRESS SALSA VERDE & WHIPPED LEMON FETA

Steps:

• Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Unroll the pastry but leave it on the parchment, then transfer it to a baking tray. Brush egg yolk all over. Trim the edges with a large, sharp knife - this will give you a neater finish but isn't essential. Cut the pastry in half lengthways, and move the pieces apart so they have a little space to puff up as they cook. Score a border about 1cm from the edge of the pastry, all the way around, then cut slashes across the centre to prevent it from puffing too much. Be careful not to score the border.
• Toss the carrots and radishes in a little oil and a sprinkling of salt in a small roasting tin. Put the pastry on the top shelf of the oven and the veg on the middle one, and cook for 25 mins, or until the pastry is golden and has a crisp base, and the veg are starting to soften. Leave to cool while you make the lemony feta.
• Crumble the feta into a bowl, add the mascarpone, lemon zest and milk and blend using an electric hand whisk until smooth. Chill until needed. To make the salsa verde, put all the ingredients in a small hand processor and whizz to a pesto consistency. This will keep in the fridge for a few days.
• Bring a pan of water to the boil, and have a bowl to hand filled with cold water and some ice. Add the asparagus to the boiling water and cook for 1-2 mins until bright green but still crunchy. Use a slotted spoon to scoop out and plunge straight into the iced water. Do the same with the sugar snaps, and finally the peas, draining these in a sieve, then cool in the ice water with the other veg.
• Spread the whipped feta over the bases, top with the veg (you can mix them up or keep the roasted veg on one tart and the green veg on the other, if you like), then drizzle with salsa verde and a little oil. Best served within an hour or two, but leftovers will keep for a day in the fridge.

WATERCRESS SALSA VERDE

Steps:

• Place everything in a food processor.
• Blend with 2 tbsp water to a smooth paste.
• season to taste.

GRILLED SKIRT STEAK WITH WATERCRESS AND SALSA

Steps:

• For the salsa: Prepare a grill for high heat. Lightly oil the grill grates. Cut 6 of the tomatoes in half and place them on the grill with the jalapenos. Char, turning regularly to promote even cooking, until the skins are blackened, about 20 minutes. Remove the vegetables from the grill and set aside to cool.
• Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cut the top off the bulb of garlic. Place the garlic bulb on a sheet pan and roast until the garlic is tender and can be squeezed out of the bulb, 30 to 45 minutes. While hot, turn the bulb upside down and squeeze the bulb from the root end to the top, pushing the roasted garlic cloves out of the bulb. Crush and chop 4 cloves of the roasted garlic and stir together with the red onions and cilantro in a bowl. (Save the remaining roasted garlic for another use.)
• Quarter and seed the remaining 6 tomatoes and dice the flesh. Add to the bowl with the garlic and onions. Remove some of the charred skin from the roasted tomatoes, then dice the tomatoes with the seeds. Put them into the bowl with the rest of the salsa ingredients.
• Remove some of the charred skin from the jalapenos and cut in half. Remove the seeds and dice the jalapeno. Add to the bowl with rest of the salsa.
• Add the lime juice and mix the salsa. Season to taste with salt and pepper and let the salsa sit for at least 30 minutes before serving.
• For the smoked tomatillo rice: Heat a smoker to 350 degrees F. Drain 1 cup hickory wood chips that have been soaked for 1 hour and add them to the smoking pan of a smoker.
• Put the tomatillos and red onions in a perforated pan and place in the smoker. Smoke the vegetables for 10 minutes, then remove from the smoker and transfer to a blender. Add the cilantro and honey and puree until slightly chunky. Season with salt and pepper. (If it is still tart, add more honey).
• Bring 2 1/4 cups water to a boil in a pot. Stir in the rice and cover. Reduce the heat to low and cook the rice until all of the liquid has been absorbed, 12 to 15 minutes. Fluff the rice with a fork, then stir in 1 cup of the tomatillo salsa (save the remainder for another use). Cover again and hold warm for plating.
• For the guacamole: Combine the cilantro and yellow onion in a blender and blend until almost pureed but still a little chunky.
• Scoop the flesh out of the avocados and put them in a bowl. Add the onion-cilantro puree and mash the avocados with a fork. Add the tomato, red onion and lime juice and mix well. Season with the salt and cover with plastic wrap directly touching the guacamole.
• For the vinaigrette: Combine the lime juice, cilantro and honey in a bowl, then slowly whisk in the vegetable oil and olive oil. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
• For the skirt steak: Combine the vegetable oil, olive oil, cilantro and garlic. Pour over the steaks and marinate the steaks for at least 1 hour and up to 24 hours.
• Prepare the grill for high heat. Lightly oil the grill grates. Remove the steak from the marinade. Season with salt and pepper and cook until grill marks appear, 1 to 2 minutes per side. Heat a skillet or saute pan over medium heat on the stovetop. Transfer the marked steak to the skillet and finish cooking on the stovetop over medium heat, flipping once, 3 to 4 minutes per side. Allow the steak to rest 5 to 10 minutes before slicing against the grain and on a bias.
• For plating: Divide the rice among 6 plates. Lay the sliced steak over the top of the rice. Top each plate with a large tablespoon of the guacamole.
• Combine the watercress and red onions in a bowl and dress them with 2 to 3 tablespoons of the vinaigrette. Toss the watercress salad and divide among the plates, piling it on top of the steak. Spoon 2 to 3 ounces of salsa over the top of each salad. Sprinkle the plate with a pinch of freshly ground black pepper.

SIMPLE WATERCRESS SALAD

Steps:

• Combine vinegar, salt, and pepper in a salad bowl. Slowly whisk in oil. Add watercress and toss with vinaigrette to evenly coat. Serve immediately.