Citric Acid Free Pesto-Walnut Watercress and Cucumber Salad
Peppery watercress, cool cucumber slices, toasted walnuts, and shaved Parmesan come together in a salad that feels genuinely restaurant-worthy without much effort at all. The real star is the pesto vinaigrette — blended from fresh basil, raw walnuts, garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, and lemon zest — which coats every leaf in something bright, herby, and deeply satisfying. For anyone avoiding citric acid, store-bought dressings and even some packaged salad greens can be surprisingly tricky territory, since citric acid shows up as a preservative in all kinds of unexpected places. Making the dressing from scratch here means you know exactly what's going in, and the fresh lemon juice does all the acidic lifting naturally. Toasting the walnuts in a dry skillet for just a couple of minutes adds a nutty warmth that plays beautifully against the cool, crisp cucumber. The whole thing comes together quickly and tastes like something you'd order at a nice bistro — clean, vibrant, and completely made from ingredients you can trust.
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Learn more →Ingredients
4 servings
For the salad
- ½ cup raw walnut halves
- 5 oz watercress, thick stems trimmed
- 1 english cucumber, thinly sliced
- 1 oz parmesan, shaved
For the pesto vinaigrette
- 1 cup fresh basil leaves, loosely packed
- ¼ cup raw walnut halves
- 1 small garlic clove
- 3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
- 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 1 tsp lemon zest
- ¼ tsp salt, plus more to taste
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- 1 pinch red pepper flakes (optional)
Instructions
- 1
Heat a dry skillet over medium heat. Add the ½ cup raw walnut halves (for the salad) and toast, stirring frequently, until fragrant and lightly golden, about 2–3 minutes. Watch closely, as they can brown quickly. Transfer to a plate and let cool.
- 2
In a small food processor or blender, combine the basil, ¼ cup raw walnuts (for the vinaigrette), garlic clove, lemon juice, lemon zest, salt, black pepper, and red pepper flakes, if using. Pulse until the mixture is finely chopped and uniform.
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