Vegetables

Watercress is always one of the first vegetables to become scarce in bad weather as the beds ice over, but re-establishes itself quickly in milder conditions. It makes the season’s simplest salad partnered with slices of fresh orange. No dressing is necessary – just salt and freshly ground black pepper. An arrangement of Belgian chicory leaves with toasted and roughly pounded pine kernels or hazelnuts and a dressing of olive oil and dark, rich balsamic vinegar, perhaps sweetened with a few drops of port, makes a more sophisticated salad.