Plate Up for Protection: 3 Delicious Immunity-Boosting Recipes for Cold Weather
FOOD & DRINK
As autumn arrives and the temperature drops, the season brings a crispness to the air alongside the usual rise in winter colds and seasonal lurgies. While reaching for citrus fruits like oranges is a common reflex to boost vitamin C levels, another green leafy vegetable offers even greater nutritional benefits.
Gram for gram, watercress actually contains more vitamin C than an orange, alongside a rich supply of vitamin A, vitamin B6, and folate, all of which directly support normal immune system function. Pairing this peppery leaf with foods rich in vitamin D, such as eggs, mushrooms, oily fish, or lean meats, creates a powerful dietary defense to help keep seasonal bugs at bay as sunlight hours decrease.
Lamb & Watercress Samosas
Samosas make a perfect appetiser, light supper or even a snack. Here the minced lamb, containing some vitamin D is cooked with a rich, garlicky watercress purée that is also used as a sauce for serving. Delicious at any time of the day – even while on the go!
Makes 10| Preparation time: 25-30 minutes for lamb filling; 30 minutes to shape pastries| Cooking time: 12-15 minutes
Ingredients
For the watercress sauce:
sunflower oil
2 onions, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely diced
400g double cream
400g watercress
Salt and pepper
For the samosas:
400g lamb mince
1 packet filo (10 leaves)
25g butter, melted, for brushing
dried watercress powder or black sesame seeds, for sprinkling
Method
To make the watercress sauce, heat 2 tablespoons of sunflower oil in a saucepan over a medium heat, add the onions and cook for around 5 minutes or until soft and translucent. Add the garlic and cook for a further minute. Pour in the cream and simmer until it reduces by about half.
Add the fresh watercress, cover and cook for 1 minute. Remove the pan from the heat, put the lid on and leave for a further 10 minutes. Purée the watercress mixture using a blender or food processor. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Next heat a little more sunflower oil in a pan and brown the lamb mince quickly all over. Add three-quarters of the watercress sauce (keep the rest for serving) and cook gently for 5 minutes. Leave to cool completely.
To shape the samosas, lay the pastry on a work surface and fill each sheet, one at a time, keeping the other sheets under a damp tea towel so that they don’t dry out.
Brush one sheet with melted butter and cut in half lengthways. Put one half on top of the other to give a double layer of pastry. Put a spoonful of filling towards the top right corner of the strip and fold the left corner over to make a triangle, pressing the edges together.
Repeat this triangular folding all the way down the strip until you are at the end of the pastry and all the edges are sealed. Trim away any excess pastry. Brush the top of the samosa with butter and sprinkle with dried watercress powder or black sesame seeds.
Repeat with the remaining filling and pastry to give 10 samosas. You can bake them straight away or chill the uncooked pastries in the fridge until you are ready.
Heat the oven to Gas 6/200C and bake the samosas on a baking sheet for 10-12 minutes or until gently browned. Serve with the remaining watercress sauce and some chutney, if liked.
Bibimbap – (Korean mixed rice with meat and vegetables)
If you’re looking for a healthy recipe that will still impress at the dinner table, then why not try this trendy traditional Korean dish? Bibimbap is sure to turn heads, and its amazing flavours will certainly have people coming back for more. What’s more packed with beef, eggs and watercress, your guests will be leaving readier to fight off bugs than when they arrived!
Serves 4| Prep time: 35 minutes| Cooking time: 55 minutes
Ingredients
Meat and Rice:
200g beef mince (substitute shiitake mushrooms for vegetarian)
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tsp dark brown soft sugar
Half a clove garlic, finely chopped
3 cups short grain rice
Vegetables:
250g watercress
250g bean sprouts
2 red peppers
1 carrot, peeled
1 Courgette
4 eggs
Vegetable oil
Sea salt
3 spring onions, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
3 tsp sesame seeds, toasted
3 tbsp sesame oil
Bibimbap Sauce:
4 tbsp Korean red chili paste (gochujang)
1 tbsp dark brown soft sugar
1 tbsp sesame oil
3 tbsp water
Method:
Mix the beef mince with the soy sauce, sesame oil, dark brown sugar and garlic. Leave to marinate for 30 minutes while you prepare the other elements. Cook the rice, following the instructions on the packaging.
Mix the bibimbap sauce ingredients in a bowl, taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.
Cut the carrot, red pepper and courgette into thin matchsticks and put into separate bowls. Add a pinch of salt to the carrot and courgette, mix and leave to stand for ten minutes.
Bring a pan of salted water to the boil. Rinse the bean sprouts in cold water, then plunge into the boiling water and cook for 2 minutes. Remove from the water using a slotted spoon and run under cold water until completely cool. Bring the pan of water back to the boil, then throw in the watercress and cook for 30 seconds. Drain the watercress and run under cold water until cool.
Squeeze out the excess water from the carrot, courgette, watercress and bean sprouts, still keeping them separate. Add 1/3 of the chopped spring onions and 1/3 of the chopped garlic to the watercress along with 1 tsp of sesame seeds and 1 tbsp sesame oil. Mix thoroughly and repeat with the bean sprouts.
Place a wok or large frying pan on a medium-high heat with 1 tbsp vegetable oil. Fry the carrots for 1-2 minutes, then remove them from the heat and wipe the pan clean with a cloth or kitchen paper. Repeat with the courgette and the red pepper, adding a pinch of salt and the remainder of the garlic when cooking the peppers. Mix the peppers with the remainder of the spring onion, sesame seeds and 1 tbsp sesame oil once they have been removed from the heat.
Wipe the pan again and return to a high heat. Add a further tablespoon of vegetable oil, then add the beef mince to the pan, frying for 3-5 minutes until cooked thoroughly.
Once the beef is cooked, remove from the heat, wipe the pan again and fry the eggs in some vegetable oil. While the eggs are cooking, put the rice in four serving bowls and add the meat and assorted vegetables around the outside. Finish with the fried egg on top and serve with the bibimbap sauce on the side.
To eat, mix everything together in the bowl and enjoy!
Japanese Shitake Mushrooms Salad
Mushrooms are unique as they can produce vitamin D when exposed to UV light, just like we do. In fact, they can make it in such large quantities that a single serving can exceed the recommended daily intake. Wild mushrooms like chanterelles get natural sun exposure while growing, but you can put all varieties of un-treated mushrooms (gill up) in direct sunlight for 30 minutes prior to eating and they will then become a source.
Serves 2 | Prep time: 15 mins | Cook time: 10 mins
Ingredients
25-30g dried shiitake mushrooms, rehydrated (available from www.thewasabicompany.co.uk)
1tbsp soy sauce
80g watercress
175g edamame beans
3 radishes, sliced
1 chilli, finely sliced
Sprinkle of sesame seeds
For the dressing:
2tbsp soy sauce
2tbsp vinegar – white wine or sake vinegar
1-2tbsp honey
1tbsp fresh ginger, grated or minced
1tsp sesame oil
Method
Mix the salad dressing
Once the mushrooms are rehydrated as per the pack instructions, finely slice them and pan fry with a little sesame oil and the soy sauce until cooked.
Arrange the watercress base with all the other components on top, including the mushrooms.
Finish with a sprinkle of sesame seeds for flavour and crunch
Face the winter without fear! Protect yourself safe from seasonal bugs with these fabulous recipes packed with watercress, rich in vitamin C, to support immunity.
For more delicious recipes visit www.watercress.co.uk
The information in this article was kindly provided by Currant Communications.
Ollēdi © 2026
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