The Chef’s Garden harvests farm-fresh watercress as a microgreen as well as in petite and ultra sizes—plus with its deliciously edible white blooms. This makes watercress a marvelously versatile choice to use in our “Plating Techniques” series.
Bar Snack: Anchovy Watercress Sandwich
The bocadillo is a typical Spanish-style sandwich popularized by its low cost and decent margins. If you can find or make a demi baguette, bring these onto your menus and sell them all day. From ham and cheese to fried sardines, watercress is an excellent addition to this bar snack. We love this plant for its extremely long shelf life given the right conditions.
Fine Dining: Watercress. Olive Oil. Egg. Nasturtium. Turnip.
Watercress is a beautiful complement to rich fatty foods, and here we’ve brought the cousins together in a family reunion around the egg. Turnip, watercress, and nasturtium balance well with soft boiled eggs and olive oil.
Banquets: Lamb and Watercress with Reduced Farm Stock
Simply put, for banquets, less is more. Faster turnaround time equals better food and less time (or no time) holding in boxes. We often lean toward more courses with fewer components than fewer courses with more components. In fact, three-course menus are not allowed here. We have too many stories to tell and our guests have come a long way to experience this place and all it has to offer. This dish is a perfect example of that.
Watercress Plant
The watercress plant offers up a unique flavor profile, one found at the intersection of salty, spicy, and slightly bitter. Texture? Delicately thin—and ideal to use to paint your plates.
We hope you’ve enjoyed this installment of our “Plating Techniques” series. We’ve got plenty more planned!