In The Ferryman’s Daughter, Hester, like her mother before her and countless women throughout the ages, makes the very best of the foods she can forage to supplement her family’s meagre income.
One of my own favourites is watercress. I can remember it growing wild in abundance when I was a child, but living in sheep country I’m not sure I’d like to chance it straight from a stream these days, even if I could find it. So imagine my excitement when I stumbled across the fact that watercress doesn’t need a stream. It doesn’t even need to stand in water. It grows quite happily in the ground or in a pot. And even better, you don’t need to try and source seeds. One bunch of watercress from the supermarket, or even better fresh from a farmer’s market or greengrocer, will do. The little white hairs that are the roots are usually already there on the stems, and a week in water and they’ve increased, grown stronger and are ready to go.
I may not exactly forage for my watercress, but I love being able to wander out and pick fresh peppery leaves for a salad or a garnish for soup.
When I was researching Hester’s recipes for The Ferryman’s Daughter I was delighted to come across this one for watercress soup. It’s simple, the colour is amazing, and it tastes delicious – especially with an indulgent swirl of cream or crème fraiche, and fresh white bread, a luxury Hester could only dream of, especially during the shortages of The Great War. It was only natural it became one of the recipes featured in the back of the book.
So whether from your own crop, or it’s grabbed from a supermarket, this is the delicious recipe for Hester’s watercress soup.
Watercress Soup
Salt and pepper
30 g butter
1 medium onion
1 stick celery
Approximately 250 g potatoes
Approximately 250 g watercress
Approximately 300 ml water
Salt, pepper and cream to taste.
Melt butter in pan. Chop onion and cook until soft. Add chopped stick of celery. Peel and chop potatoes into small pieces. Add to pan and stir. Add enough water to cover and simmer until potatoes are soft. Chop watercress, add to soup and warm through. Blend until smooth. The original recipe says to add milk, but I like to keep the tang of watercress and thin slightly with water (or stock) to the preferred consistency. Add salt and pepper to taste and stir with a swirl of cream (or similar). Serve with slices of fresh crusty bread.
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