Watercress and Bok Choy Salad with Cherry Tomatoes

Watercress is one of the most nutrient-dense foods on the planet, and the best way to enjoy its peppery flavor is in salads like this one. Make this easy watercress and bok choy salad your go-to when you want to enjoy this powerhouse leafy green vegetable.

In addition to the watercress, you’ll enjoy two other tender greens in this salad — baby spinach or arugula, and bok choy. It’s embellished with cherry tomatoes and pumpkin seeds and enveloped in French dressing.

This salad goes well with most any type of meal — casseroles, potato dishes, hot or cold pastas, stir-fries, and more. 

Variations

• If you have another favorite homemade or bottled dressing you prefer instead of the French dressing suggested in the recipe, by all means, use it!
• Use tender Asian greens like tatsoi or mizuna in place of the spinach or arugula.

Get to know watercress

The flavor of watercress is often described as peppery, and though that’s already a bit of a culinary cliché, but there’s really no other word for it.

A member of the mustard family, the peppery heat of this tiny green comes from the mustard oils that are released when chewing the leaves. It’s a mild and pleasant bite, and this tender, vitamin-C rich green is easy to love.

It used to be that like asparagus, seeing watercress at the market was a sign of spring, but now, it’s available most of the year around. Watercress is believed to have healing and tonic properties above and beyond its splendid concentration of vitamins and minerals.

The easiest (and tastiest) way to use this delicate green is uncooked. In addition to enjoying it in salads, watercress is also good in sandwiches in place of lettuce, dips, and herbal salad dressings in place of, or in addition to, parsley.

Once the leaves look like they need to be used up, watercress is good as a last-minute addition to soups and briefly wilted in stir-fries. See our Guide to Watercress, with more recipes to explore

Recipe is adapted from Wild About Greens by Nava Atlas. Photos by Hannah Kaminsky, BittersweetBlog.com.

Explore more …

• Watercress and Radicchio Salad with Beets and Avocado
• Orange and Watercress Salad with Bok Choy or Belgian Endive
• Watercress Salad with Oranges and Cucumber
• Delectable Plant-Based Bok Choy Recipes
• Easy, Delicious Cherry Tomato Recipes
• Red and Yellow Cherry Tomato Salad with Fresh Herbs

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Yield: 6 servings

Watercress Salad with Bok Choy & Cherry Tomatoes

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Make this easy watercress and bok choy salad your go-to when you want to enjoy this powerhouse leafy green vegetable.

Prep Time 15 minutes

Total Time 15 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 bunch watercress leaves (some stem is fine)
• 2 to 3 ounces baby spinach or arugula leaves
• 2 small or 1 medium baby bok choy, or 4 stalks large bok choy (stalks sliced and leaves chopped)
• 2 to 3 scallions, thinly sliced
• 1 cup or so cherry or grape tomatoes, halved (or left whole if small)
• Toasted sunflower or pumpkin seeds for topping
• Good-quality bottled French dressing for serving (see Note)

Instructions

1. Combine all the ingredients except the dressing and seeds in a serving bowl and toss together. Sprinkle seeds as desired over the top.
2. Pass the dressing around so that everyone can dress their own salad. If desired, pass around extra sunflower or pumpkin seeds for topping individual servings.

Notes

Variations

• If you have another favorite homemade or bottled dressing, by all means, use it!
• Use tender Asian greens like tatsoi or mizuna in place of the spinach or arugula.

See lots more plant-forward salads & sides and Fresh Spring Salads