1 Make your own stock using offcuts left over from preparing veg – onion skins and ends, tomato cores, carrot tops and celery leaves all work well. Bring everything to a simmer in a pan of cold water with a bay leaf and a few peppercorns. Simmer for 30 mins, then cool before straining. If you don’t prep a lot of veg at once, save the offcuts in the freezer until you have enough to make stock.
7 way s t o u s e u p
FRUIT & VEG SCRAPS
4
Food is a precious commodity and using all of what you have cuts down on shopping trips. Try these ideas at home
Bake your own veg crisps from peelings
Very fresh peelings (from veg that’s been scrubbed clean) make tasty crisps. Drizzle potato, parsnip and carrot peelings with a little oil and vinegar, if you like, and sprinkle over some chilli flakes, parmesan or salt. Spread over a baking tray and bake at 200C/180C fan/gas 6 for 25-30 mins, or until crisp. If the peelings are thin, they may need less time – keep an eye on them so they don’t burn.
CAKES & BAKES FROM BENDY VEG
You can use past-its-best veg for baking cakes, muffins and brownies. Search ‘beetroot brownies’ on bbcgoodfoodme.com and find more ideas by looking up our cakes collection. If your veg is very bendy and not easy to grate, then chop in a food processor or cut into chunks and soak in very cold water for 30 mins – this helps stiffen it up a bit, making grating easier. Use carrots, parsnips, pumpkin, butternut squash or swede in our leftover veg & orange cake. Get the recipe at bbcgoodfoodme.com/ leftover-veg-orange-cake.
10 BBC Good Food Middle East June-July 2020
USE STALKS & LEAVES
Often, the bits we cut away from veg and discard are packed with flavour, so using them can enhance your cooking. In Thai cuisine, coriander roots and stalks are often used in pastes, while the leaves are reserved for scattering over the finished meal. Cauliflower leaves can be used in traybakes and roasts, adding texture as they crisp up in the oven, or simply mixed through cauliflower cheese. You can use broccoli leaves in similar ways and the stalks, too, whether sliced, chopped or even spiralised. To make full use of a cauliflower or head of broccoli, cut into thick slices or ‘steaks’ for a veggie roast (as pictured above).
Photographs BEN CURTIS, ISABELLE ROZENBAUM/GETTY IMAGES
2 3
