In a restaurant kitchen setting, we’re working with a significant volume of product at any given moment in time. Even minimal scraps from the vegetables and proteins we’re prepping for a night of service add up quickly, so our team is adept at utilizing those stray bits in other applications. Our goal each day is to minimize the amount of product that hits the compost bin, and you better believe we have a plan for all those delicious protein odds + ends too.
Today, we’re drawing from our arsenal of tricks to share some easy hacks for cutting back on veggie waste in your kitchen.
1. Root for those greens: While they might require a good wash to remove excess dirt, don’t toss those radish, beet, or turnip tops. We love incorporating root veggie greens into dishes, because they mirror the flavor of the root itself. While beet greens will impact the color of the dish (just like its beet brother), think of these as subs for recipes where you’re directed to saute or wilt chard, spinach, or even kale.
2. When in doubt, pesto it out: While a traditional genovese pesto calls for basil, feel free to experiment with other herbs + greens for variations that clear out your produce bin. Think: celery leaves, fennel fronds, carrot tops (you’ll want to balance these slightly bitter tops with a sweeter green/herb such as basil), arugula, and even those aforementioned radish and turnip tops. Psst... recipe developer extraordinaire Hetty McKinnon has a fantastic fennel frond pesto in her cookbook, Tenderheart (an essential one for whole veg cookery).
3. Stock it up: Hang onto those leek tops, outer onion peels, fennel stems, etc., and use them to make a stock. These loose ends can similarly be applied when cooking up a pot of dried beans. P.S. That bean broth is also gold if you’re using your beans in a chili, stew or braised dish.
4. Pickles are forever: We love any excuse to pickle a veg, so this is one of our go-to’s when we have chard stems or other veg bits we might not use up immediately. Consider this your life vest for those moments when you absolutely know you aren’t going to get through that massive cauliflower you bought at the market.
5. Hold onto your stems: Treat vegetables like you would an animal and try to use the whole thing, stems and all. Peel off the tougher outer layer of the broccoli stem (obviously, you’re now saving that for your stock), and julienne it for a slaw. Fennel stems can also be diced up and used in place of celery stalks in your mirepoix for soups and braises.