Waste less with these “throwaway” lunch recipes
Bruised fruit, veggie tops, stale bread – these are the things that drive you crazy. Let the TASTE team save your sanity with these delicious trash-to-table recipes – invented in our brand-new kitchen – that’ll inspire you to cut back on food waste (your pocket and the planet will thank you!)
EAT ALL THE BROCCOLI!
Broccoli leaves are the new kale (because really, who has time for all that massaging?). Remove the mid-rib and tear the leaves into salads or mix them into a sauté. You can also toss them with salt, pepper and oil and roast as chips. The stalks are deliciously crunchy, too. Shred them into coleslaw, slice thinly for salads, or blitz the stems with cheese, pine nuts and olive oil for a pesto to drizzle over pasta or pizza.
Cook's note: Leave out the ham for a vegetarian version - it's just as delicious.
Try: Leftover cheese, broccoli leaf and ham phyllo pie.
THIS IS A STALEMATE
Once your artisanal – or store-bought, we’re not judgy – loaf has gone stale, it’s good for lots more than bird food. It’s practically a scientific fact that stale bread makes the best bread-and-butter pudding, gets new life when dipped into egg for French toast, is the lifeblood of a traditional panzanella salad, and can become spectacularly crunchy croutons in a matter of minutes under the grill.
Try: Treacle tartlets.
BAKE WITH BANANA PEELS!
Banana peels: great for practical jokes, brilliant in banana bread. When bananas are overripe, the skins also become thinner, softer and sweeter. Blitz them into a batter with the banana itself for a smooth, creamy result. They also add extra fibre to the loaf. It’s a win-win.
Cook's note: You’ll need really ripe bananas, bordering on black, for this recipe. Use bruised avos for the ‘frosting’.
Try: Genius banana skin cake with avo frosting.
MEET THE NEW TACO!
When you’re making mashed potato or gnocchi, save yourself the job of peeling the potatoes (and then having to dispose of the peels) by making “potacos”. And when you’ve got leftover mash (as if!), pop it in the freezer to use later in fish cakes or croquettes.
Cook's note: This is a fantastic party snack made with potato skins (mash the flesh to make my own gnocchi, or freeze it for fish cakes).
Try: “Potacos” with cheese sauce.
SAVE YOUR STRAWBERRY TOPS
Don’t chuck the cut-off ends of strawberries – they’re a great way to bulk up a pesto. And celery happens to be a very budget- conscious veggie that’s beyond delicious as a snack to serve with drinks.
Try: Celery bites with strawberry-top pesto.
MAKE YOUR OWN CELERY SALT
Herby celery leaves are delicious in veggie stock, soups and pasta sauces, or added to a tabbouleh (with bulgur wheat, tomato and cucumber). Or make a salt by drying the leaves of a bunch of celery in a hot oven for about 10 minutes, then grind them in a mortar and pestle and add to Maldon salt (around a third of a cup). Bloody Mary here we come!
DON’T BIN THOSE BEETROOT LEAVES
Save them to prepare in the same way as Swiss chard or spinach. Braise the leaves with olive oil, salt and pepper and serve as a side with wedges of lemon. Or add them to a frittata, pop into a green smoothie, or make a salad with feta and dress it with vinaigrette. Their earthy flavour is also a great match with anchovies and strongly flavoured cheeses.
Cook's note: If you don’t have the time to make ravioli, cut the pasta dough into tagliatelle and fry the filling with the butter sauce and serve on top.
Try: Beetroot-top ravioli with fennel and burnt butter.
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