Celebrate the UK’s most historic salad leaf during National Watercress Week (16 to 23 May 2010) by trying out one of our many delicious watercress recipes. Experiment with new flavours by adding watercress to your favourite salad, smoothie and pasta or whizzing it into a classic watercress soup – it’s so versatile the choices endless.
Or visit the home of watercress farming in Alresford, Hampshire, on Sunday 16th May 2010 for the 7th annual Watercress Festival (10am to 4pm).
Hampshire Farmers’ Market will showcase the best of local produce with some producers highlighting the versatility of the crop with watercress scones, watercress pesto and watercress chocolates being just a few of the watercress products on offer.
The "World Watercress Eating Championships" are back for all watercress lovers who are daring enough to attempt to eat as much watercress as you can in 2 minutes. There will also be cookery demonstrations, live music, street entertainment, face painting and much more, making it a great day out for all the family. For more information, visit www.watercressfestival.org.
You can also pick up a Watercress book at The Watercress Alliance stand for the special festival price of £5.00, which includes all you’ll ever need to know about the wonderful history of watercress farming as well as dozens of delicious recipes.
There are so many things to enjoy in Alresford and visitors can easily make a whole day of it:
- Take a wander round Alresford’s many wonderful specialist shops, selling food, gifts, antiquarian books, arts and crafts.
- There are a number of beautiful walks around Alresford. Venture away from the town centre and follow one of the trails taking in the River Arle and the Weir.
- Local heritage site the Eel House will be open for festival goers to visit. The Eel House was originally part of the Arlebury Estate and was used to trap eels right up until the 1950s. For more information on the Eel House visit www.alresford.org.