» Articles » Food

A recent study has shown that watercress is a 'powerhouse vegetable' with a high bioavilability of many key nutrients

Watercress and pink grapefruit salad

This is a clean tasting and nutrient dense salad that is ideal for summer.

It’s quick to make and looks beautiful on a plate. Contrary to what you might think the salt in the dressing will actually bring out the sweetness of the fruit, whilst the oil will help your body absorb more of the antioxidant beta carotene from both the watercress and the citrus.

Pink grapefruit is a bit sweeter than the white variety but if grapefruit isn’t you favourite citrus, you can substitute orange or even better mandarin. This recipe serves 2-4.

Ingredients

• 2 pink grapefruit (1 tbl of the fresh juice reserved)
• a big handful watercress
• 2 tbl olive oil
• 1 tsp of finely chopped chives
• pinch sugar
• salt
• freshly ground pepper
• pomegranate seeds and walnut pieces for scattering

 Method

1 Finely grate the zest of one of the grapefruits, avoiding any pith and set aside,

2 Peel the grapefruits with a sharp knife, removing all the pith.Run a sharp blade either side of the thin membranes, releasing whole segments one at a time. Let them drop into a bowl along with any juice that drips while you are doing this.

3 Whisk up a dressing by mixing the olive oil with the reserved grapefruit juice, the chives, some of the finely grated zest to taste, a pinch of sugar and salt and pepper.

4 Toss the leaves and a handful of walnut pieces with this dressing just before serving and and gently scatter the grapefruit segments on top, followed by a few pomegranate seeds for added colour, flavour and nutrition.