A highlight for many who attend the annual Alresford Watercress Festival are the live cookery demonstrations by both popular local chefs and those with more of a celebrity status. This year’s festival on Sunday 18th May will be no different with cookery demos by four outstanding professional chefs.
Two of those taking part will be TV favourite, Lesley Waters and cookbook author, food columnist and speaker, Suki Pantal.
Lesley Waters is well known for her regular television appearances on Ready Steady Cook, Great Food Live and This Morning but she is also a former Head Tutor of Leith’s School of Food & Wine, author of several Cookery Books, a qualified Fitness Instructor and a mother of two!
Originally a Londoner born & bred, Lesley moved to the West Country where she opened her own Cookery School, realising a long-held dream. She loves to cook with fresh, seasonal ingredients, including, of course, watercress:
“Watercress is one of my favourite things!”, she says. “Versatile, full of flavour, texture and nourishment. What more can you ask for!”
This will be Lesley’s third Alresford Watercress Festival, and she is back by popular demand as the crowd loves her fun and lively demonstration style.
And she loves the festival too, explaining: “The Watercress Festival is truly a wonderful event, full of foodie treats and stands. It’s a great family event that has something for everyone; not to missed!”
Suki too is an old hand, having attended the festival in 2024. She is the founder of Suki’s Curries and Spices, is a cookbook author, culinary teacher, food columnist and speaker. She conducts live demonstrations, virtual cookery classes and talks across the UK, sharing her passion for Indian cuisine.
Born and raised in New Delhi, Suki specializes in regional Indian recipes, bringing authentic and diverse flavours of India to her cooking. She actively showcases her love for regional curries at food festivals, using them as a platform to celebrate and share India’s distinct culinary traditions and the Watercress Festival is no different.
Suki said: “I love coming to the Watercress Festival because it’s such a fun, lively event! There’s amazing food, fantastic atmosphere, and of course, plenty of fresh watercress everywhere. It’s a great chance to show how watercress can be used in Indian cooking, which surprises a lot of people! Plus, the energy here is just phenomenal—who wouldn’t want to be part of it?”
True, watercress might not instantly be associated with Indian cooking, but Suki is keen to demonstrate how it actually suits Indian cuisine perfectly: “Watercress is such a versatile ingredient! It’s fresh, peppery, and adds a great kick to Indian dishes. I love using it in salads, chutneys and south Indian pachadi, daals, yogurt raitas, and curries —it blends so well with spices. It’s super healthy, loaded with nutrients and vitamins, so you get flavour and nutrition in one go. I enjoy experimenting with watercress to create fusion dishes that surprise and delight the audience.”
For anyone who can’t wait until May to see that happen, both Suki and Lesley have shared a recipe for enthusiasts to experiment with at home!
Garlic Mushrooms Bread Splats by Lesley Waters
No deep frying! Just mushrooms, baked on a watercress salsa bread crust and smothered with garlic butter just before serving.
Serves 4
For the Dough
- 15g fresh yeast
- Approx 225mls warm water
- 340g strong white flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 3/4 teaspoons coarse salt
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
Mushroom topping
- 400g selection of chestnut mushrooms, trimmed.
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- Extra watercress
For the Watercress Salsa Verde
- 1 bunch spring onions finely chopped.
- 1 bunch watercress washed and picked over stalks trimmed slightly and roughly chopped.
- 2tbsps capers
- 1tbsp olive oil
For the garlic butter
- 110g butter, softened.
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed.
- salt & freshly ground black pepper.
Method:
For the bread:
- Dissolve the yeast in a little warm water. In a large bowl stir together the flour and salt. Pour the yeast mix into the flour along with the olive oil and remaining water. Stir and bring together to form a soft dough. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 10 minutes until smooth and elastic.
- Place the dough in a lightly oiled, large bowl. Cover and leave in a warm place for approx. 1 1/2 hours or until doubled in size.
- Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 7/ 220C/ 400F.
- When the dough has risen, kneed it again to ‘knock it back’ and shape into 2 rough circles. Place on a baking tray, cover with a cloth and allow to prove until 1 ½ times its original size. When proved, use your fingertips to form dimples in the dough. Brush with the olive oil and sprinkle with the salt and rosemary sprigs.
- Bake in the oven for 10 minutes and then reduce the heat to Gas Mark 5/190C/375F for a further 25/30 minutes until golden and cooked. Turn out on a wire rack to cool slightly.
- This bread is best eaten warm, and on the day that you baked them. (Do not refrigerate)
For the topping and constructing
- Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 7/ 220C/ 425F.
- In a small food processor or blender whizz together the spring onion, watercress, and capers with olive oil together. Season well set to one side.
- Divide the dough into 8 and roll out each piece into a rough splat approx. 15cm in diameter. Place on a baking sheet and top each splat with some of the salsa leaving a border around the outside. Crowd the mushrooms, stalk side up, on the top of the salsa.
- Brush the mushrooms and edges of the dough with a little olive oil and bake in the oven for approx..10-12 minutes until the bases are golden and crisp.
- Meanwhile, combine the butter and the crushed garlic and season.
- Remove the mushroom splats from the oven and immediately top each mushroom stalk with a blob of garlic butter. Sprinkle with watercress leaves and serve at once.
Daal Fry with Watercress by Suki Pantal
This recipe adds the peppery freshness of watercress to a comforting lentil dish.
Ingredients
For the Daal:
- ½ cup Moong Daal (Split, Yellow Lentils)
- ½ cup Split Masoor ( Red Lentils)
- 3-4 cups water
- 1 small white onion, finely chopped
- 2 tomatoes, chopped
- 100g watercress, washed, stems removed, and chopped
- ½ teaspoon turmeric
- 1 teaspoon ginger-garlic paste
- Salt, to taste
For the Tempering (Tadka):
- 2 tablespoons oil +1 teaspoon butter
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 3-4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1 green chilli, chopped (optional)
- ½ inch ginger, finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon Kashmiri red chilli powder
- 1 teaspoon dried fenugreek leaves (optional)
- 1-2 dried red chillies (optional)
To Finish:
- 1 teaspoon garam masala
Method
- Cook the Daal (Pan & Pressure Cooker Methods)
Using a Pan on the Hob:
- Rinse both lentils well, until the water is not cloudy and runs clear.
- In a deep pan, add the lentils along with 3-4 cups of water (check the consistency of the daal you prefer and add water accordingly), onion, tomatoes, turmeric powder, ginger-garlic paste, and salt.
- Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and let it simmer, stirring occasionally.
- Cook for 30-40 minutes or until the lentils are soft and mash easily. If needed, add more water to maintain the consistency you like.
- Once done, mash lightly with a spoon for a creamy texture.
Using a Pressure Cooker:
- Rinse the lentils, and add them along with the water, onion, tomatoes, watercress, turmeric, ginger-garlic paste, and salt to the pressure cooker.
- Cook for 1 whistle on medium heat. Let the pressure release naturally before opening the lid.
- Prepare the Tempering (Tadka)
- Heat oil and butter in a small pan.
- Add cumin seeds and let them splutter.
- Throw in the dried red chillies (if using) and fry for a few seconds.
- Stir in chopped garlic, green chilli (if using), and ginger. Sauté until golden. Switch off the burner.
- Add Kashmiri red chilli powder, and dried fenugreek leaves. Fry for a few seconds. We switch off the burner before adding the spices to prevent them from burning in hot oil.
- Combine & Finish
- Pour the tempering over the cooked daal and mix well.
- Sprinkle garam masala on top.
- Serve hot with rice or roti.
Enjoy your comforting and nutritious Daal Fry with Watercress!
If that’s whetted your appetite for more watercress recipes, be sure to visit the Alresford Watercress Festival on Sunday 18 May and see Lesley and Suki in action, together with Martin Dawkins, AKA the Rustic Chef, and Andy Mackenzie and Phil Yeomans from Lainston House. More about them later!
For more information and to keep up to date with new attractions being added to the festival visit www.watercressfestival.org
