Is it safe to say that, for most of us, avoiding food waste simply involves using the ingredients we have provided for ourselves to a reasonable extent? Arguably, one might say that the act of buying an item of food then represents a commitment towards using it in full. While I certainly find myself in agreement with this line of thinking, perhaps the common notion of what "full usage" comprises needs to be broadened.
Across the past ten or so years, a culinary movement has arisen, terming itself "root-to-stalk" cooking, with the intention of promoting the use of fresh produce with an attitude of completeness. Stems and stalks, ribs and rinds, scraps and skins; suddenly there is a place in the kitchen for the unbeloved features of the fruit and vegetable anatomy aside from the bin. Proponents of this method of food-preparation advocate for three benefits, those being a lack of discarded nutrients, a greater diversity of flavour and texture as well as extracting the best possible value for money out of your ingredients.
I find the ideals of root-to-stalk cooking pretty hard to argue with. There definitely are parts of vegetables that we somehow just learned to assume are unpalatable or inedible. If I were to be presented with a naked corn husk, I would not have a clue what to do with it. The same is true for peach leaves, or dandelion flowers, or watermelon seeds; it isn't particularly intuitive and sounds vaguely like reagents for a bubbling cauldron, rather than a kitchen counter. Luckily, The New York Times is here to help, with an article from 2011 which lists preparation ideas for various salvaged ingredients if you scroll to the bottom of the page.
While the cost-saving imperative is certainly appealing, it's not the only reason why root-to-stalk cooking might be advocated by those who occupy the kitchen. A 2015 article from the Wall Street Journal sums this up pretty succinctly by asking "is garbage the new kale?", referring to the presence of items that would normally be discarded on the menus of premium restaurants. Not only are these ingredients thrifty, but they also hold some form of virtuous mystique that hints at a rather more holistic understanding of the vegetable as an entity.
Not to dismantle this aura, but I have to admit that while I think the idea of using ingredients to their fullest extent is a noble one, I'm not particularly good at knowing where to start. I'll consistently cook the stalk of the broccoli in a stir-fry preparation and occasionally slice up cauliflower leaves to be braised, but that's about it (so far). It is certainly best to begin in familiar territory, so I had the idea to use the leaves of a cauliflower I was using for a curry to make a small dish that could go on the side. Cauliflower leaves are an entirely non-threatening preparation, especially when braised; they become tender and imbibed with the flavours that they're cooked in. It makes practical sense to correspond with what the major body of the vegetable is going towards, but there's no reason why these couldn't be saved back to go towards another meal as well.
Given that this idea came to me in the midst of plucking florets from the cauliflower body, this was produce using ingredients that were already in the house, so is definitely an uncomplicated preparation. However, these could easily be swapped out to suit preferences. I liked the idea of a creamy side dish to go with the sharper heat of the curry, and had the remains of a pot of double cream and some Dijon mustard left over from another upcoming recipe development (this is taking a considerable amount of fine-tuning but I promise it will be up soon!). It also made sense to use some of the same aromatics used in the curry, such as garlic and celery, as well as a sprinkling of curry powder to give a mild sense of spice.
I don't think we necessary need to adjust our concept of waste to encompass the use of every single part of the produce we bring home, but it certainly cannot hurt to be aware that the assumptions we hold about edibility may be somewhat limited in scope. Trying to extract the greatest value from fresh vegetables, and knowing how to do that in a satisfying way, is certainly a balm to a mind concerned about the potential of running dry on money before the end of the month (especially if that particular mind in question has a food blog that they really want to carry on writing...)
Next time you find yourself cooking with a cauliflower, look not just to the pearly florets and give the leafy recipe below a go.
Cream-Braised Cauliflower Leaf
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 10 minutes
Ingredients
Leaves of 1 large cauliflower
75 ml of vegetable stock
50 ml of double cream
1 stalk of celery
2 cloves of garlic
2 tsp of dijon mustard
1 tsp of curry powder
1 tbsp of vegetable oil
Salt
Method
Slice away the lower core from the body of the cauliflower and remove any stalks that are still attached to it. Discard the core.
Detach any stalks that are still clinging to the cauliflower and wash thoroughly.
Cut off the fibrous end that was closest to the bottom of the stalk, and slice finely.
Crush two cloves of garlic and mince finely.
Take the stalk of celery and cut into inch long pieces. Slice each piece into thin strips.
Prepare the vegetable stock and mix together with the double cream and the mustard until combined fully.
Heat the vegetable oil in a medium saucepan and add the garlic and the celery. Lightly fry for two minutes before adding the cauliflower leaf.
Sprinkle the cauliflower leaf with salt before mixing to distribute, and then turning up to a high heat. Add the cream/mustard/vegetable stock mixture to the saucepan as well as the curry powder, stir until combined and bring to the boil. When this comes to the boil, turn down to a medium-low heat and clamp the lid down.
After five minutes, stir the mixture through again and take off of the heat. Cool slightly before serving with your main cauliflower-based meal.
Notes & Adjustments
If you would prefer this to be a little lower in fat, then replace the double cream with creme fraiche. This will give the dish a little bit more of a sour tang. It would also be pretty tasty without the cream, and would give the dish more of a straightforward savoury flavour.
If you don't have Dijon mustard, you can use wholegrain or French mustard too in the same quantity. If you have hot English mustard then use 1 tsp of this before tasting to check if the mustard taste is strong enough.
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