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Prep Time: 0 Minutes Cook Time: 20 Minutes |
Ready In: 20 Minutes Servings: 4 |
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Why the?? Well, it’s only a salad if you think so. I always think of it as the green veggie part of the meal. Whatever. There’s heaps of Water Kress in Samoa. It’s cheap, it’s hours old when you buy it and it’s great. Read more . Of course it’s swamp grass in some places but here it grows along the banks of pristine streams or at the outlet of crystal clear springs. We get ours from one of my wife’s cousins and it’s terrific. Most Samoans just cook the whole mess to death; which should be a crime but isn’t. A good size bunch is about 75 cents US here and we usually buy two bunches at a time. Cousin or not, you still get some stalks in this lot but after my daughter has picked just the tender leafy shoots out we have about a gallon of loosely packed kress and that’s how much this recipe is for. One other note; the bacon we get here is very lean so I add a couple of Tbs of olive oil to make up for that. You’ll need to adjust things to suit the fattiness of your bacon. Ingredients:
1. one gallon (4ltrs) tender water kress leaf tips. don’t get too prissy here but leave the tough stalks behind. |
2. 1/4 lb (250g) smoked bacon, chopped pretty fine. a little fat is a good thing here. |
3. 1 small onion, chopped pretty fine. |
4. 1 medium bell pepper, chopped pretty fine. |
5. 1 medium clove garlic, chopped pretty fine. |
6. a pinch or two of basil. |
7. a pinch or two of cumin |
8. salt and fresh ground pepper to taste. |
9. 1 tsp vinegar; your choice of kind but i use wine. |
Directions:
1. • Pick over the kress, leaving the tough stalks behind, drain well and put into a 2 gallon bowl.
2. • Bring a heavy skillet to med temp and toss in the chopped bacon, stir a bit.
3. • Chop the onion and add that, stirring.
4. • Chop the garlic and add that, stirring.
5. • Chop the bell pepper and add that, stirring.
6. • Add the Basil and Cumin, stirring.
7. • Cook all of this, stirring often, until the bacon is done but not crisp. You want to time this so the veggies are cooked but not browed.
8. • Turn off the heat and add the vinegar and salt and pepper, stirring.
9. • Get some help and slowly pour the dressing over the Water Kress while your helper tosses things vigorously, until the lot is well mixed and the kress is wilted.
10. Gee whiz, you made it. Too bloody easy, too bloody quick and too bloody good. Enjoy. Now and then, just for a change, I dice a small tomato and add that a minute or two before the dressing is done.
11. For all of you folks who grew up on this stuff forgive me but not everyone has been so fortunate. You would be surprised at how many people, from various parts of the world, who have had this at my house, have said what’s this”, “I thought you cooked this stuff to death” or “I thought you used this like parsley”.
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