The Waste-Free Kitchen: 6 Recipes From Scrap-Buster Alex Elliott-Howery

Despite knowing we need to reduce our food waste, we all sometimes end up with ingredients that leave us stumped. For Issue 44, Alex Elliott-Howery of Sydney’s beloved (and sadly now shuttered) Cornersmith Cafe & Picklery gave us tips for using the bits and bobs usually destined for the bin – bon appétit! 

words ALEX ELLIOTT-HOWERY photo (above) JESSICA HARRIS other photos CORNERSMITH

Take a leek, slice the white part only, throw the other half away. Take a bunch of coriander, pick the leaves for a salad, throw the stems away. Sounds ridiculous, right? But that’s how many of us have been taught to cook. 

At Cornersmith cooking school, we always encouraged home cooks to take another look at fruit and vegetables to reconsider what they think should go in the bin. Throwing away edible parts of produce is mostly a consequence of not having any idea what to do with the ‘secondary’ parts. Stems, skins and stones can all be used, if not to actually eat, then at least to flavour syrups, vinegars and teas. It’s time to rethink our kitchens as places that can affect positive change in the war on food waste. Here are some of our favourite ways to use those parts you once threw away…

(Note: while Cornersmith’s cooking school is no more, Alex still runs the odd pickling and preserving class. Follow Cornersmith on Instagram and you’ll be the first to know when she’s back in the kitchen.)

1. BEET-STEM SALSA

Don’t throw your beet stems away – instead, make a salsa! Sauté stems in oil with Spanish onion, dill stems and a pinch of chilli. Add finely diced gherkins, capers, fresh dill, salt, a splash of vinegar and cook for a few minutes more, and enjoy on toast, with eggs, through salad or on grilled meats.

2. ORANGE BUTTER

Before you make freshly squeezed OJ in the morning (or use the fruit for cooking or baking), zest your oranges. You can freeze the zest, or use it to make a delicious orange butter by adding it to some softened butter (six tablespoons of butter to the zest of two oranges, plus a generous pinch of salt). Our favourite ways to enjoy orange butter? We’ve pan-fried whiting in it, had it on toast with honey, used it in baking, stirred it through couscous and dolloped it on top of crêpes or pancakes – the options are pretty much endless! It also freezes well, so you can keep some on hand for whenever the mood strikes.

3. TIRED HERB-AND-STEM CHIMICHURRI

This green sauce is an excellent condiment for tacos, fish, eggs, grilled meats, avocado and the base of salad dressings. Save your leftover parsley stems and any tired-looking bunches of dill and coriander lurking at the back of the fridge. Roughly chop herbs (leaves, stems and roots) and put into a food processor with a garlic clove, a little chilli, salt and a splash of apple cider vinegar. You can also add a pinch of cumin or fennel seeds. Blitz, taste, adjust. Then blitz again, slowly adding about 100ml of olive oil until the sauce is smooth. Put the chimichurri into a clean jar or container and top with oil, and then store in the fridge for up to two weeks.

4. FLAVOURED VINEGARS

Making flavoured vinegars is a great way to use up the odds and ends in your fridge. Place a knob of ginger, a few garlic cloves, a chilli or two, some citrus peel or a few sprigs of woody herbs in a jar or bottle. Cover with apple cider or white wine vinegar and seal. Let sit for four weeks on the bench, then strain and discard the produce. Lemon vinegar is delicious on a grainy salad, chilli vinegar for stir fries and dipping sauces, rosemary vinegar is a great base for classic salad dressings and garlic vinegar is perfect for tomatoes.

It’s time to rethink our kitchens as places that can affect positive change in the war on food waste.

5. PINEAPPLE-SKIN SYRUP

Pineapple skin makes the most luscious syrup. To whip up your own, you’ll need the skin of one pineapple, one or more pineapple cores, two cups of water, one cup of sugar, one star anise, four allspice berries, two cloves and 1/4 tsp black peppercorns. Wash the pineapple skin well and roughly chop, before adding the water and sugar to a saucepan and dissolving the sugar over a low heat. Add in the spices, pineapple skin and chopped cores. Simmer over the low heat for 15-20 minutes, then strain the skins and spices. If you want the syrup to be thicker, put it back on the heat and reduce further. Pour into a clean jar or bottle and store in the fridge for up to a month. This syrup is also delicious for marinading meats, in dressings, in cocktails or over ice-cream. Yum!

6. HERBY SALTS

When we’ve got too many herbs, we make herb salt. Completely dry your herbs in the sun, a dehydrator or a very low oven. Blend to a fine powder. Mix together six tablespoons of the dried herbs, 300 grams of salt and half a tablespoon of chilli flakes or dried citrus powder. Store in an airtight container or dry jar in the pantry, and sprinkle liberally on roasted potatoes, grilled meats and fish, salads, pasta or avocado toast.

This article originally appeared in Issue 44 of Peppermint. Click here to get your hands on back issues and our lovely Sew&Tell digital magazines.