Peels, leaf stalks, leaves—these unwanted parts of fruit and vegetables, once condemned to the rubbish bin, now often become the most desired morsels. Leftovers are the new black!
I have a very vivid image in front of my eyes: on a late summer afternoon, I’m sitting at a table watching a cartoon. My grandmother joins me, equipped with apples, a bowl, and a knife. Without asking if I want fruit or not, she starts carving and peeling the apple, cutting out the seeds first and then peeling the fruit along with a few millimeters of flesh. The beautifully polished, juicy pieces of apple land in my mouth. For years, I was accustomed to consuming certain parts of vegetables and fruit, and taught that their peels, leaves, leaf stems, or flowers must be disposed of before eating. However, it turns out that this is often wrong.
The Vitamin Coating
In the case of fruits and vegetables, what is unwanted is usually what is valuable. The peels of fruit and vegetables are often the healthiest elements because they are high in nutritional value. The apple peel contains a number of vitamins in high concentration (mainly vitamin K and E). It also contains half of the fiber found in the rest of the fruit and almost all of the fruit’s phytosterols as well as its folates, which are responsible for things like regulating the nervous system and improving well-being. The apple core also has its own secret powers. It contains hard seed coatings that are not digestible, so they flow through the digestive tract, “cleaning” it. The seeds themselves are equally magical. In the past, they were used to treat hypothyroidism; Slavic traditional medicine has recipes for apple seed tinctures that were supposed to heal the organs. In natural medicine, it is also recommended to consume them as a cancer treatment due to the concentration of vitamin B17 (amygdalin). However, caution should be exercised—an excessive dose of apple seeds can result in poisoning.
Peelings to the Rescue
Unpeeled fruit tastes just as good, if not better, than peeled fruit thanks to the contrast of structures that the teeth have to bite into. When you have a handful of peels left over after preparing an apple pie, for example (preferably with brown butter and sea salt), just throw them into a saucepan and cook the apple tea with ginger. The use of root vegetable peels can be more challenging. Often, you can simply abandon peeling and only scrub the tubers carefully before cooking. A stock or soup will actually benefit from this method because, in addition to valuable vitamins, the peel also hides a lot of flavor that asks to be extracted. I always keep an airtight container in the fridge, into which I throw all the “waste” from everyday cooking: the peels of carrots, celery, garlic, and onions; and sprigs of parsley, cilantro, rosemary, and thyme. When they pile up, I put them into a pot, pour cold water over them, add allspice, bay leaves, and peppercorns, and cook over low heat for an hour until they give off all their flavor. Thanks to this, I almost always have vegetable broth on hand, which has proven many times to be a dinner savior.
The Power of Greens
If you buy a bunch of carrots and the seller asks if you want them to cut the tops off, firmly refuse. It would be a shame to waste so many vitamins, as well as essential minerals (like calcium, potassium, and magnesium), antioxidants, carotenoids, and chlorophylls. Think about all the wonderful things that can be made from carrot tops. Just as with any leafy herbs and vegetables tops (radishes, turnips, celery roots, etc.), you can turn them into a thicket, a thick green sauce like pesto or a carrot top chutney. It is best to fry carrot leaves with garlic in oil, and then blend it with a handful of hazelnuts, a small amount of apple cider vinegar, and aged cheese (if the dish is to be vegetarian, you should use cheese that, unlike Italian parmesan, does not contain animal rennet). Carrot leaf tops go well in smoothies, creamy carrot and orange soup, or in salads along with other leaves.
The same goes for the rest of the root vegetables. Turnip greens contain over one thousand times more vitamin K than their roots, while beetroot leaves have a calcium content that is more than seven times higher than that of its tuber. Another great way to introduce these leafy foods into your diet is through baking. Radish leaves work exceptionally well in this form, even when they are already wilted. I like to serve them as a healthy snack alongside chive butter and almond flakes.
I love hearing about how others process food creatively. One such story featured potato peel crisps. It turns out that, every time you peel a potato, a quarter of its mass ends up as waste when it could end up on the table in the form of a crunchy snack or an addition to a salad or soup. The vegetable needs to be thoroughly scrubbed and dried, and then peeled. The peels are coated in olive oil, salt, lemon zest, and rosemary. After 10 to 15 minutes of baking at 430°F, they should be crunchy and ready to eat.
Just as a few years ago, the fashionable concept among chefs of “nose to tail,” which popularized eating the fifth quarter of an animal, revolutionized the menus of restaurants around the world. Now, the oh-so-pleasant era of “leaf to root” is coming.
Young Vichy Carrots with Carrot Top Thicket and Cheese
(2-4 servings)
- a bunch of young carrots with greens
- 1 tsp fine sea salt
- 1 tbsp cane sugar
- 1 tbsp allspice berries
- 2 tbsp butter
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1/4 cup (55 g) extra virgin olive oil
- 1/3 cup (40 g) hazelnuts, plus additional amount for serving
- 1/3 cup (30 g) grated aged cheese, plus additional amount for serving
- freshly ground black pepper
- Scrub the carrots and cut them in half lengthwise. Wash the carrot greens thoroughly and chop them coarsely. Transfer the chopped vegetables along with the salt, sugar, and allspice berries to a large non-stick pan. Pour boiling water over it, only slightly covering the carrots (some of them should stick out above the water). Bring to a boil and cook on maximum power for 20-30 minutes until the water has completely evaporated.
- When the carrots start to burn, add the butter. Fry the vegetables, turning them over, for 3-4 minutes more, until caramelized. Remove from heat and transfer to a serving platter.
- In the meantime, prepare the thicket sauce. Set the stove to moderate power and heat 1/4 cup of oil in another frying pan. Add the garlic and sauté it for about 30 seconds until it releases its aroma. Add the carrot greens and fry for about 4 minutes, stirring until softened. Remove from heat and transfer to a blender along with oil, hazelnuts, cheese, and 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt. Blend to combine, but not purée. The mixture should have crunchy lumps. Season with salt, pepper, and vinegar, if desired.
- Put the thicket over the caramelized carrots. Sprinkle with hazelnuts and cheese. A bit of coarsely grated peppercorns would also work well here.
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