|
| Garden cress, flowering plant |
|
| Flowering nasturtium |
In Europe, cress leaves are not commonly combined with other fresh herbs; yet they are compatible with the fines herbes of French cuisine (see chives) and may be used together with each of them. Leaves or even more flowers of nasturtium are commonly used to flavour herbal vinegar (see dill); cress is also very good for herb sauces (see borage).
In West and Central Asia, there are local culinary herbs with cress-like flavour; most cookbooks silently substitute cress in these recipes, which is the more justified as garden cress actually stems from that region. Cress is used from North Western Asia (Georgia, Azerbaijan) to Central Asia (Iran); it even appears in Kazakhi cooking, as one of the few herbs supported by the climate in Kazakhstan.
The obvious disadvantage of cress is that the leaves cannot be dried and are only rarely traded. While water cress must be gathered in the wild, both garden cress and nasturtium grow well in every garden with minimal effort. Garden cress is surprisingly unpretending and grows extremely quickly; about one week after sowing, the plant must be harvested. To have fresh garden cress at any time, use three pots and sow in three-day intervals. Nasturtium, on the other hand, needs only a little bit more care, but then may grow exuberantly for one season. Its orange flowers are very decorative and have additional use: The buds and unripe fruits can be pickled and serve as a good substitute for capers.
A Mediterranean herb, rocket, displays a similar
pungency rather like cress, but has also a distinct, intense flavour.
Rocket can often be used as a spicier alternative to cress.
