There’s something semi-sacrilegious about throwing away precious parts of a vegetable or fruit, especially if you’ve grown the food in your own garden or parted ways with more than a few greenbacks to procure it. But we unwittingly do this everyday, tossing aside broccoli stalks, Swiss chard stems, and other bits of greens because we think it’s waste, the non-edible stuff. Are we throwing the baby out with the bathwater?
Chefs and home cooks in other parts of the world routinely use what we consider compost fodder. Stemming partly from tradition and partly from a resourceful reverence for anything edible, what can be used is. This trend is catching on in the United States, for various reasons. Some advocate it for economy or sustainability’s sake, but I think there’s a bigger reason at play—taste. Stems, leaves, and fronds are not only nutrient-dense, they are often the most flavor-rich. Once I realized I could eat beet greens, the thought of throwing them into the compost pile seemed like dumping the foam from a cappuccino down the drain (the best part!).
Yet just as trying to use all the parts of an animal would perplex most amateur cooks, the conundrum with vegetables is the same—what do we do with these parts we’re so unaccustomed to eating?
Carrot Tops
Though they can have an intense, parsley-like flavor, carrot tops needn’t be discarded in the compost bin. Their bright, springtime flavor makes them a nice addition to soups and broths. They can be sprinkled over couscous, in addition to or replacing parsley, or mixed as an herb in salads and salad dressings. A little goes in a long way in dips and buttery sauces.
Swiss Chard Stems
The stems of Swiss chard take longer to cook than the leaves, but are a deliciously crunchy and slightly sweet addition to recipes that call for Swiss chard. I’ve use them in simple gratins and in Swiss chard flans. You can also cook them with onion, garlic, and olive oil prior to the addition of the leaves and finished with a sprinkle of sea salt and pepper. I’ve also seen them battered and deep-fried. (How could you go wrong there?)
Celery Leaves
In one of the more memorable scenes in Heat, Bill Buford’s account of apprenticing in the kitchen of acclaimed chef Mario Batali, the author is chopping his way through a huge pile of celery, and, unsure what purpose the leafy fronds would serve, throws them away. When Mario spots him doing this, he pulls them out of the trash, indigent, and asks, “What have you done? You’re throwing away the best part of the celery!”
In the book, the celery leaves, which have a highly concentrated flavor, are served with steak. You can also use them in place of cilantro (whose clean, crisp taste the leaves mimic), in soup broths, and in purees for added flavor.
(Mario also goes on to save kidneys, green garlic tops, and the tops of leeks from the garbage.)
