Waste Not Rowen: Saggy salad leaves? Whip up a pesto

Rowen Halstead’s 12 years in top-flight kitchens, which saw him witness “shocking waste”, inspired him to become a fulltime food sustainability advocate. Now known as Waste Not Rowen, the Bury St Edmunds-based chef shares seasonal waste-saving tips – and his favourite recipes – with Velvet

Hands up if the healthier eating you attempted at the beginning of the year has washed away with the wet weather. A bag of salad leaves full of potential and good intentions now stares at you from the shadows of the fridge, crying out to be turned into salad one last time. The sun comes out and with it a patch of warmer weather. You think to yourself ‘A salad would be lovely, I still have a bag in the fridge’. As you reach for the bag, ideas of what nutritious, refreshing creation is to come flashing in your mind, you realise it’s too late. What was once lively and crisp is now sad and wilted.

It may sound like a wildly specific scenario but alas, far more common than you may think. The UK wastes 178 million bags of salad every single year, that’s 40% of all bagged salad bought, and the 5th most wasted food item in the UK. In other words, you’re not alone with your wilted watercress. But as cheap and accessible as salad leaves might be, they are still food.

Here’s a little secret: salad leaves can stay fresh for weeks! I’m not talking about growing your own and harvesting as needed—though that’s an excellent option if you have the time and space. The real trick lies in storage. Whether your leaves are homegrown or store-bought, place them in an airtight container with a damp piece of kitchen towel at the bottom, seal it, and pop it in the fridge. So long, sad salad!

Although, if this information has reached you too late, and the bag in the shadows is crying out, there is still hope. A fresh, crisp, vibrant salad might be behind you but instead envision it as if it were spinach. Throw a handful of wilted salad leaves into a curry, or tagine. Sauté with garlic in a stir fry then dress in soy sauce, chilli, lime zest, and pickled ginger. Blend into smoothies or soups for vibrancy and added nutrition. All is not lost, channel the creativity. Nothing gives old salad leaves a better second life though than a prized pot of fool-proof pesto!

Fresh Ricotta & Salad Pesto on Toast

Ingredients:

For the pesto:

- 30g salad leaves

- 25g walnuts (a cheaper and less overpowering alternative to pine nuts)

- 1 clove garlic, crushed

- 10g Parmesan, finely grated

- 1/2 lemon juice and zest

- 100ml olive oil

- (Optional) small handful of soft herbs like basil, parsley, chives, chervil, or even carrot tops

- Few grinds black pepper and salt

For the ricotta:

- 500ml Whole Milk

- 1/2 Lemon Juice & Zest

Method:

1.For the pesto, place all ingredients into a small food processor and blend until smooth, scraping down the sides every now and then. This can be made ahead of time and stored in an airtight jar or tub in the fridge, or in ice cube trays in the freezer (also perfect for a quick pasta sauce!)

2.For the ricotta, place the milk, lemon juice and zest into a saucepan and gently heat, stirring occasionally. Bring the milk to just below a simmer (it should look split and curdled), then remove from the heat and allow to sit for 10 minutes.

3.Strain the milk through a fine sieve, ideally lined with cheesecloth or muslin. The solids in the sieve is your ricotta!

4.Heat a skillet with 2 tablespoons of olive oil until almost smoking. Add 2 slices of crusty bread and toast on either side, charring slightly.

5.Remove the toasted bread from the pan onto a plate. Season the ricotta with a pinch of salt and dollop onto the toast. Drizzle over the pesto, and finish with some tomatoes and watercress.

For more recipe inspiration and waste-saving ideas, follow @wastenotrowen on Instagram.