23 watercress recipes for fresh salads and green soups

Loaded with green veg and potato for creaminess, this immune-supportive soup needs just a splash of cream to become a hearty, warming lunch

Serve your summery fried salmon with a vibrant (and nutritious) watercress sauce, made all the more interesting with dill, lemon, crème fraîche and capers

This watercress and pea soup has been pepped-up with some baked lemon and sesame croutons. It's veggie and low-calorie – perfect for a healthy midweek meal

Cashew cream is a vegan alternative to dairy creams - here we've matched it to a super healthy green soup. You'll need a powerful blender to get the desired, smooth texture.

Watercress adds peppery notes to this saucy stir-fry. It's low in calories and perfect for a springtime dinner

Horseradish and watercress add a grown-up feel to this quick and easy pasta dish that works equally well with linguine or spaghetti

This fresh, flavourful duck, mango and watercress salad is ready in just 30 minutes and is under 500 calories - perfect for a midweek meal

Emmer is an ancient wholegrain which works well in this creamy risotto with spring greens, pecorino and white wine.

Mackerel is always best super-fresh and the season runs from July until February so you've got plenty of time to enjoy it. During the summer, we love this recipe for grilled mackerel fillets with lime mojo - the acidity of the lime and orange works really well with this oily fish

This rich smoked haddock, gruyère and watercress tart tart makes a lovely dish for a spring lunch – serve with a crisp green salad

Try our Korean-style steak salad recipe for a quick midweek meal for two. This low calorie dinner is easy to make and packed with punchy flavour

Tangy pickled grapes meet creamy taleggio in this gluten free recipe, the perfect low calorie midweek meal

This fresh, zingy watercress and avocado salad with pink grapefruit and Campari vinaigrette makes a great summer starter. It's vegetarian, easy and ready in 30 minutes

This classic new potato deli salad is super simple to make. Under 500 calories this recipe is a great healthy midweek meal

Cobb salad is an American classic of chopped tomatoes, avocado, leaves and crisp bacon. Our version adds blue cheese, sourdough croutons and a green goddess dressing.

Check out this super simple stir-fried recipe with prawns. This dish is inspired by the Cambodian love of peppercorns, this speedy stir-fry is a real treat for prawn lovers. Dried green peppercorns are easier to find than fresh, but if you happen to see fresh ones do snap them up, as they taste brilliantly zingy. Look out for them in Asian grocery shops

This California scramble is a quick and easy vegetarian meal for one - try for breakfast, brunch or a quick midweek meal

Ready in under 20 minutes and packed with the taste of spring, these puff pastry treats make an easy dinner party starter your guests will love

This recipe for potted shrimp on toast with pickled cucumber makes a really quick and easy meal for one midweek

The best vegetarian roulade. Serve for brunch, for lunch or even for a light meal at the weekend. With ricotta, mascarpone and parmesan you could expect this to be higher than 300 kcals, but it's a low-cal treat. Watercress gives it a fresh and peppery flavour.

Get your friends over and serve up a feast of juicy roast duck, duck fat potatoes and a vibrant spring salad for ultimate Easter entertaining

Gammon and egg is a classic combination. In this recipe, we've paired it with a fresh watercress and pea salad for a quick midweek meal that comes in under 500 calories.

Turn pork escalopes into an easy, tasty midweek meal with breadcrumb coating and a quick tomato and watercress salad. A dollop of mayo is all you need on the side.