Garden cress

Lepidium sativum

leaf

Small peppery shoots cut a few days after sowing, in sandwiches, salads and on eggs; its seeds (halim) thicken milks and porridges in India and the Middle East.

Origin

Western Asia and Ethiopia, grown everywhere

Season (United States)

all year round · grows in your region

Preparation

The young shoots are snipped with scissors above the seeds and eaten raw, straight away, in sandwiches, salads or on eggs; cooking takes away their bite.

Molecules

Beta-carotene (vitamin A) · Lutein and zeaxanthin · Vegetable nitrates · ChlorophyllIn small amounts, not counted Pungent glucosinolates

Did you know?

In England, children sprout it on damp cotton wool: it is the cress in mustard-and-cress sandwiches.