Seasonal Recipe: Watercress-Sunflower Seed Pesto

Watercress is a delicious spring green, and if you know a good patch it's not hard to harvest several cups fairly quickly. But it doesn't last long after it's harvested. So how do you extend the shelf life of this crisp, spicy green? Turn it into pesto, of course!

This may be the easiest recipe ever... You just need watercress, sunflower seed kernels, garlic, olive oil, and a little salt. (Ignore the knotweed in the background, that's for something else. More on that another time.) I used about 4 cups of watercress, 1 cup of sunflower seeds, a dozen cloves of garlic, a few tablespoons of oil, and half a teaspoon of salt. But I like the garlic pretty strong. If you aren't big a garlic fan, you won't want nearly that much. Start with just a few cloves and taste as you go. Make sure the watercress is clean, peel the garlic, and throw everything in the food processor.

That's it. Done! This pesto makes a delicious snack or appetizer as a dip for corn chips or toast points. Or serve it over spiral pasta with your favorite toppings, like sausage, morels, fiddleheads, sun-dried tomatoes, and goat cheese.

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Rachel Mifsud

Founder (and everything else)

“I hate going to the store. I do my grocery shopping in the woods.”

I have my BS in Environmental Biology and my MS in Ecology. I have worked as field biologist and ecologist throughout the Eastern U.S., and am a Biology lecturer at the University of Michigan - Dearborn. I have been teaching for over 20 years and have spent considerable time working with students in the classroom, in the woods, and on-line.

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