JUST BECAUSE THOSE salad leaves in the fridge are not quite crisp enough to make the cut for your next salad doesn’t mean they’re not good enough to eat.
Here in Ireland, we generate enough food waste between us each year to cover the Aviva Stadium with a 140-metre pile of rubbish, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. That amounts to around 330kg per person, each year, which is a lot of unused bags of spinach and rocket.
Salad leaves can wilt very quickly in the fridge, but if you do unearth a forgotten bag or bunch of leaves, don’t bin it just yet. It might not make for a crisp salad but you could still…
1. Whizz up a green smoothie: This is a great way to use any wilted greens, since it’s all being blended anyway. For example, blend some chopped apple, pear, ginger, and your greens along with some almond milk and hey presto, a nutrient-packed breakfast! A little squeeze of lime won’t hurt either.
2. Make a summer soup: Lettuce soup might sound like something out of a Dickensian orphanage, but it’s a very refreshing summer dish. Fry some onion and garlic, toss in whatever herbs you have on hand (basil works a treat!), along with leftover lettuce leaves and some vegetable stock. Then blend, season and add a squeeze of lemon juice to retain the vibrant green colour.
3. Include them in your favourite pasta dish: Leaves like rocket, watercress and chard have strong flavours and can make an excellent addition to a pasta sauce. Add some to your favourite sauce and stir to cook them briefly.
4. Fry it up: Pan-frying or grilling works brilliantly for hardier leaves like Romaine lettuce, and you’ll often find Asian dishes with fried chopped lettuce included. Fry some garlic, ginger, chilli and onion in a pan, add a few handfuls of chopped lettuce, and a dash of soy sauce. A deliciously quick and tasty vegetarian meal served alongside some egg fried rice.
5. Sautee your greens: Sauteed spinach or lettuce is a wonderful side dish alongside fish or chicken. For a deluxe version, pan fry some bacon, garlic and onion in butter, then add peas, chopped lettuce, a dash of stock or white wine and simmer for a few minutes.
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