If throwing out perfectly delicious leftover greens were a crime, I would be serving a life sentence.
It kills me to do it, but until fairly recently, I had not considered that leftover greens could have a second life. There is truly no other ingredient so essential yet so short-lived as the humble green.
Whether a delicate soft herb or the bunches of kale you bracingly convince yourself you will eat, greens are there one day and rot the next.
To extend their life, we have come up with five easy ways to use up the greens before they go bad (without making any salads).
Add them to pasta
Mix them into freshly drained hot pasta along with some olive oil or butter and salt and pepper. You can also stir greens into tomato sauce or layer them into lasagna.
Juice
Lettuce greens are juicy things and make a great addition to any sort of smoothie. Even peppery greens, such as arugula, can add a nice little spicy kick to a fruit flavoured drink.
Make a bed for your eggs
Soft-boiled or fried eggs with runny yolks are the perfect pairing for tender greens. Skip the extra step of making a vinaigrette and just set your cooked egg right over a tangle of lettuce. When broken, the yolk will coat the greens. It's not a salad so much as it is a way to soak up all that eggy goodness.
Make lettuce soup
Many cooks do this all the time and it is delicious. The fresh, delicate, green taste of lettuce is the perfect backdrop for an assortment of spices and herbs like tarragon, chervil, thyme, and garlic.
Stuff wraps of various styles
When your greens have started to wilt a bit and you want to enjoy them without the greens being the primary focus, like in a salad, you can turn to all kinds of wraps. The greens will add a bit of colour and crunch, and you will be able to save them from the bin.
Have you checked out the latest IOL Food & Drinks digital magazine? Read it here.