Veggie of the Week - Shahi
sponsored by Coleman Farms

Shahi is an upland cress from Iran. "Upland" here means "grows on land", to distinguish these cresses from their close relative Watercress.

If you're familiar with Watercress, you'll recognize the flavor of Shahi:grass, pepper and mustard. But their flavors develop differently: Watercress is immediately mustard with pepper while Shahi starts out grass and pepper and, just as you've dismissed it as mild, mustard appears, causing you to change your mind. The textures also differ, Watercress having fairly fleshy stems and leaves, while Shahi has feathery leaves with a texture that fairly disappears when mixed in salad, say.

Use Shahi like Watercress, in sandwiches and salads and egg salad, or use it to garnish or fill an omelette, to finish a soup or in sushi. Add it with Cilantro to salsa fresca. Used in abundance its piquancy will be apparent, but used more lightly it will perk up a salad or sandwich without at all asserting itself.

Shahi comes in several varieties: the feathery one featured today is Shahi Shirazi, the Shahi from Shiraz. "Shahi" is the adjective derived from "Shah": if you like cress, you'll see why.

Available from Coleman Farms (Thursday, Friday, and Saturday) at Santa Barbara area Farmers' Markets.