Recipe: Chilled cream of watercress soup (creme cressonniere frappe)

Chilled Watercress Soup topped off with fennel. Photo / Jason Burgess

Serves 6-8

2-3Tbs vegetable oil
200g leek (white part only)
200g potato, peeled and sliced
2 bunches of watercress (good handful each)
1 garlic clove crushed
1 litre chicken stock
salt + freshly ground pepper

Garnish
150ml of cream
juice of 1 lime
blanched zest of a lime
sprigs of dill or fennel

1 Heat the oil in a pan, add leek and potato and cook for 10 minutes until soft (stir occasionally).

2 Add watercress and garlic and cook until watercress wilts.

3 Pour in stock, season and bring to boil. Simmer 10-15 minutes.

4 Puree until smooth, pour into a bowl. Add most of the cream and the lime juice. Cool, then chill.

5 Stir the soup, check seasoning, put into bowls and garnish with the lime zest, herb sprigs and a drop or two of cream.