Quick Steamed Watercress
The most basic way I use to cook fresh, mild-tasting greens like watercress
Equipment
- 1 gallon sized pot with lid or another pot with tall sides
Ingredients
- Fresh wild greens enough to completely fill your pot, about 8 ounces
- Salt
- Your choice of fat like butter lard, or your favorite oil
- Fresh lemon juice or vinegar to taste
Instructions
- Wash the greens, looking them over for bugs, debris, leaves, or other foreign objects, then dry them well, preferably in a small salad spinner.
- Put a film of water in the bottom of the pot, add the greens—I like to add them until they completely fill the pot--sometimes I add them in batches if I need to feed a lot of people. . Put the lid on the pot, and turn the heat to medium-high and wait a few minutes until the pan gets very hot.
- Take the lid off and using tongs, vigorously stir the greens around in a circular motion for moment or two to distribute the heat, then put the lid back on and cook for another minute or two, and repeat until the greens are wilted.
- Now taste the greens and judge their tenderness, if they need a little more time, continue cooking, and add a splashes of water if needed to keep it juicy. Keep cooking and tasting the greens--young ones will cook fast, mature leaves could take 15 minutes or more.
- When the greens are cooked and taste good to you, turn the heat off. There should be a very small amount of water in the bottom of the pan--drain that off.
- Drizzle a little fat of your choice and salt to taste then, mix very well in a circular motion to distribute everything, taste again, adjust as needed, then serve, with lemon or dashes of vinegar if you like.