root to seed vegetable cooking
July 3, 2022 7:20 AM Subscribe
How do you cook the other parts of the vegetable? If you buy beets with greens, what do you do with the tops? Fresh young green garlic with soft stems? Kohlrabi leaves? I'm looking for tasty ways to use up the parts of the vegetables I have less experience with from my farm share/CSA/farmer's market/garden.
I also welcome how to use the whole veggie, top to tail, in one recipe or meal.
Vegetables I'm particularly interested in:
fresh onions with long dark green stems like seriously overgrown scallions
beets with beet greens
turnips with greens
carrots with tops
kohlrabi with leaves
fresh garlic with soft stems & sometimes scapes (and can you use the softer not-yet papery wrapping around the cloves for anything?)
Basically, all root veggies and their greens, any brassica with extra leaves, and all allium's other end. Other veggies I have not thought of yet are also welcome. Am I missing something great about corn, tomatoes, green beans, shelling peas, pumpkins? Help me get the most out of these delicious vegetables!
Ideas, methods, recipes, blogs, books, etc. all welcome.
I also welcome how to use the whole veggie, top to tail, in one recipe or meal.
Vegetables I'm particularly interested in:
fresh onions with long dark green stems like seriously overgrown scallions
beets with beet greens
turnips with greens
carrots with tops
kohlrabi with leaves
fresh garlic with soft stems & sometimes scapes (and can you use the softer not-yet papery wrapping around the cloves for anything?)
Basically, all root veggies and their greens, any brassica with extra leaves, and all allium's other end. Other veggies I have not thought of yet are also welcome. Am I missing something great about corn, tomatoes, green beans, shelling peas, pumpkins? Help me get the most out of these delicious vegetables!
Ideas, methods, recipes, blogs, books, etc. all welcome.
Unless I'm absolutely swimming in broccoli (like right now...garden is going bonkers) I will chop up and cook the stalk along with the heads. I use a peeler to peel off the rough exterior of the stalccoli and then chop it up, cook it along with the heads (steam, saute, roast). It's not a culinary revelation or anything, but it's green and good.
posted by Gray Duck at 7:45 AM on July 3, 2022
posted by Gray Duck at 7:45 AM on July 3, 2022
Older plants grown for their roots will often have a number of damaged leaves, take them off and appropriately compost / boasting/ worm farm / municipal waste as appropriate. Check if your CSA takes back food waste for compost.
Fennel fronds stumped me for a long time as I would garnish or use instead of dill in small quantities but the other week I made this sardine and fennel pasta which was amazing even with canned sardines.
Very small young leaves of most root vegetables can be used fresh in salads.
If I have fresh radishes I will usually turn their leaves into a pesto.
Carrot greens can be part of a green juice, combined with parsley and cilantro into chimmichuri or zhoug. The other day I used them instead of spinach puree to make a green pasta dough.
Beetroot leaves can be used like chard and it is often best to cook the stems separately from the leaves as they require a longer cooking time. Olive oil or butter and garlic again.
Spanokapita style spinach pies can always be made with a mix of different greens in addition to spinach.
Turnip greens are absolutely lovely. If i had a bunch I would wilt them with some butter and garlic and not share them!
Allium greens can be stir fried or used in stock.
Kohl rabi leaves can be used like cabbage leaves.
You may also have neighbourhood kids with rabbits or guinea pigs which may eat non-allium leaves.
Certain plants can also be used for dyeing, I keep a paper bag of brown onion skins for dying Easter eggs, fabric and yarn.
posted by pipstar at 7:48 AM on July 3, 2022 [4 favorites]
Fennel fronds stumped me for a long time as I would garnish or use instead of dill in small quantities but the other week I made this sardine and fennel pasta which was amazing even with canned sardines.
Very small young leaves of most root vegetables can be used fresh in salads.
If I have fresh radishes I will usually turn their leaves into a pesto.
Carrot greens can be part of a green juice, combined with parsley and cilantro into chimmichuri or zhoug. The other day I used them instead of spinach puree to make a green pasta dough.
Beetroot leaves can be used like chard and it is often best to cook the stems separately from the leaves as they require a longer cooking time. Olive oil or butter and garlic again.
Spanokapita style spinach pies can always be made with a mix of different greens in addition to spinach.
Turnip greens are absolutely lovely. If i had a bunch I would wilt them with some butter and garlic and not share them!
Allium greens can be stir fried or used in stock.
Kohl rabi leaves can be used like cabbage leaves.
You may also have neighbourhood kids with rabbits or guinea pigs which may eat non-allium leaves.
Certain plants can also be used for dyeing, I keep a paper bag of brown onion skins for dying Easter eggs, fabric and yarn.
posted by pipstar at 7:48 AM on July 3, 2022 [4 favorites]
My daughter saves all the washed and dried scraps in a box in the freezer for cooking a vegetable stock. I feel brassicas don't work so well in it, but there is very little leftover from them.
Also I agree with everything pipstar wrote.
I feel there was recently a book published about this, but I can't find it.
posted by mumimor at 7:59 AM on July 3, 2022 [2 favorites]
Also I agree with everything pipstar wrote.
I feel there was recently a book published about this, but I can't find it.
posted by mumimor at 7:59 AM on July 3, 2022 [2 favorites]
Maybe The No-Waste Vegetable Cookbook (the cover jumped out at me when I saw it at the library) or The Zero-Waste Chef?
posted by box at 8:14 AM on July 3, 2022 [3 favorites]
posted by box at 8:14 AM on July 3, 2022 [3 favorites]
Carrot top pesto with added cumin is awesome.
posted by eleanna at 8:26 AM on July 3, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by eleanna at 8:26 AM on July 3, 2022 [1 favorite]
I'm the only one in my family who likes to eat beet (mustard, turnip, etc.) greens, which means I get to cook them the way I like them, and the way I like them is sauteed with sweet onions, garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper, and then slathered in just a truckload of good, vinegary hot sauce.
posted by Dr. Wu at 8:39 AM on July 3, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by Dr. Wu at 8:39 AM on July 3, 2022 [1 favorite]
I like beet greens sauteed like other greens in a pasta.
I know this cookbook on this topic, too.
posted by vunder at 8:45 AM on July 3, 2022 [2 favorites]
I know this cookbook on this topic, too.
posted by vunder at 8:45 AM on July 3, 2022 [2 favorites]
From your list, the stalks and darker green leaves are just more fiberous/tougher. Perfectly edible, just take care to cut them crosswise and cook them a bit longer that the main part of the plant.
If something feels particularly tough/dried out/stringy, like the papery garlic skins or the stems of the carrot tops, you can save those for stock. Just have a dedicated freezer bag to save up these bits.
Some version of kuku sabzi is made for CSA boxes. Think frittata but with the ratio reversed - tons of herbs and greens with a little egg to bind it. You can customize it with your weekly greens.
posted by jenquat at 8:47 AM on July 3, 2022 [3 favorites]
If something feels particularly tough/dried out/stringy, like the papery garlic skins or the stems of the carrot tops, you can save those for stock. Just have a dedicated freezer bag to save up these bits.
Some version of kuku sabzi is made for CSA boxes. Think frittata but with the ratio reversed - tons of herbs and greens with a little egg to bind it. You can customize it with your weekly greens.
posted by jenquat at 8:47 AM on July 3, 2022 [3 favorites]
* pulls up chair and sits down *
I am also in a CSA and I also am into this. Here's some things I've done.
Beets and chard are in the same vegetable family, so beet greens can be substituted for chard in any recipes for chard you may have. I've got a few simple dinner recipes involving chard that I swap out for beet greens if that's what I have (saute them in olive oil with a little onion, then toss with tortellini).
Carrot tops make a great pesto. So do radish leaves.
Turnips are in the brassica family - as are kale, collards, broccoli, cauliflower, brussel sprouts...so turnip greens, extra leaves off cauliflower, etc. could be used like kale or collards. In fact, you could just save all of that in your fridge or freezer until you've got a good big bunch of assorted greens, and then turn it all into a batch of Southern greens. Or blanch them and save them in your freezer for New Year's and make a batch of gumbo Z'herbes - that is an all-vegetarian gumbo, and there is a wonderful tradition that if you make a batch on New Year's day, each different kind of green you use will lead to you making a new friend in the coming year.
Garlic scapes are REAL big in Asian cooking. Or you could make a pesto out of them too. I often chop up a single garlic scape to use in place of a clove of garlic.
Something for corn: you can make a quick corn-based soup stock by cutting the kernels off some corn cobs, chucking the cobs in a big pot with a quartered onion, and then covering the lot over with water and simmering for like an hour. This only works with "raw" corn cobs, though, not for when you've eaten corn on the cob. I have a recipe for a corn chowder somewhere where that's how you get the stock - you cut the kernels off the cobs, make the stock with the naked cobs, and then use the stock to make the chowder with the kernels you cut off.
In general, a good search term is "zero waste". There are a lot of people online coming up with things to do with the leaves and tops and etc. from vegetables.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 9:01 AM on July 3, 2022 [2 favorites]
I am also in a CSA and I also am into this. Here's some things I've done.
Beets and chard are in the same vegetable family, so beet greens can be substituted for chard in any recipes for chard you may have. I've got a few simple dinner recipes involving chard that I swap out for beet greens if that's what I have (saute them in olive oil with a little onion, then toss with tortellini).
Carrot tops make a great pesto. So do radish leaves.
Turnips are in the brassica family - as are kale, collards, broccoli, cauliflower, brussel sprouts...so turnip greens, extra leaves off cauliflower, etc. could be used like kale or collards. In fact, you could just save all of that in your fridge or freezer until you've got a good big bunch of assorted greens, and then turn it all into a batch of Southern greens. Or blanch them and save them in your freezer for New Year's and make a batch of gumbo Z'herbes - that is an all-vegetarian gumbo, and there is a wonderful tradition that if you make a batch on New Year's day, each different kind of green you use will lead to you making a new friend in the coming year.
Garlic scapes are REAL big in Asian cooking. Or you could make a pesto out of them too. I often chop up a single garlic scape to use in place of a clove of garlic.
Something for corn: you can make a quick corn-based soup stock by cutting the kernels off some corn cobs, chucking the cobs in a big pot with a quartered onion, and then covering the lot over with water and simmering for like an hour. This only works with "raw" corn cobs, though, not for when you've eaten corn on the cob. I have a recipe for a corn chowder somewhere where that's how you get the stock - you cut the kernels off the cobs, make the stock with the naked cobs, and then use the stock to make the chowder with the kernels you cut off.
In general, a good search term is "zero waste". There are a lot of people online coming up with things to do with the leaves and tops and etc. from vegetables.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 9:01 AM on July 3, 2022 [2 favorites]
My spouse usually makes Saag Paneer (or Chicken Saag) using the beet/turnip/radish greens or kale or chard or whatever. No specific recipe - there are a million out there. Make enough of the spice mix to put in a glass jar and then you can use it whenever. Putting the cooked greens through a food processor deals with the tough/stringy bits.
posted by matildaben at 9:24 AM on July 3, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by matildaben at 9:24 AM on July 3, 2022 [2 favorites]
I was listening to an episode of The Splendid Table a while back that talked about this. When doing a search, I found several episodes (with transcripts) that might be helpful:
Second life for faded food: reducing food waste with chef Abra Berens
Waste not, want not: cooking with scraps, wilt and weeds
Take stalk of food waste: You can cook with stems and leaves, too
posted by indexy at 9:31 AM on July 3, 2022 [2 favorites]
Second life for faded food: reducing food waste with chef Abra Berens
Waste not, want not: cooking with scraps, wilt and weeds
Take stalk of food waste: You can cook with stems and leaves, too
posted by indexy at 9:31 AM on July 3, 2022 [2 favorites]
I like broccoli leaf chopped up finely in salad.
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 9:54 AM on July 3, 2022
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 9:54 AM on July 3, 2022
It helps to figure out which greens will keep longest and eat the others first. My CSA recommends taking the tops off beets and turnips and eating them first, for instance.
posted by clew at 9:54 AM on July 3, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by clew at 9:54 AM on July 3, 2022 [1 favorite]
Oh - Tamar Adler's Everlasting Meal has a chapter about how to use up the weird bits and ends of vegetables.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 10:03 AM on July 3, 2022 [3 favorites]
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 10:03 AM on July 3, 2022 [3 favorites]
It looks like everything else has been thoroughly covered except maybe the following:
- fresh onions with long dark green stems: Cut the stems into narrow rings and use like green onions.
- fresh garlic with soft stems & sometimes scapes: I find that the stems themselves are too tough to eat (even cooked). Stock might be an ok option. The scapes are great; cut them up fine and use like garlic (they are somewhat milder than garlic cloves, so if you're cooking them, don't fry them for as long as you would fry minced/sliced garlic cloves).
posted by heatherlogan at 10:05 AM on July 3, 2022
- fresh onions with long dark green stems: Cut the stems into narrow rings and use like green onions.
- fresh garlic with soft stems & sometimes scapes: I find that the stems themselves are too tough to eat (even cooked). Stock might be an ok option. The scapes are great; cut them up fine and use like garlic (they are somewhat milder than garlic cloves, so if you're cooking them, don't fry them for as long as you would fry minced/sliced garlic cloves).
posted by heatherlogan at 10:05 AM on July 3, 2022
For the tougher parts of too-old spring garlic, make garlic broth, which is incredible to use for risottos. Also if you eat shellfish, combine the garlic skins with shrimp shells and boil for a truly awesome stock base for chowders or seafood stews like cioppino, or to use to loosen up cooked pasta with simple olive oil, garlic, and whatever fresh seafood you’ve gently steamed.
For shelling peas, you can make an incredible green pea pod soup. Here’s a recipe, but I’ve seen lots of variations on the method.
If you do spicy, make a slapdash kimchi paste with gochugaru, ginger, garlic, Korean radish, carrot, fish sauce, and Asian pear, all blended up. Then you take any greens you have (like from the different brassicas) or garlic scapes, thoroughly wash them and then completely obliterate with salt. Let them sit while salted for a couple hours and then rinse the salt off really thoroughly. Pat them dry and rub the kimchi paste all over. This is not going to ferment because it doesn’t have enough sugar in it and you aren’t going to let it sit out, because delicate greens and spring onions and such will get weird and melty, which is great if they are part of the kimchi paste but not the thing you are wanting to feature and enjoy. You can eat this fresh spicy concoction right away, or it is good in an airtight container in the fridge for about a week, and the greens will get more flavorful as it marinates. There are lots of methods online for fast kimchi for things like perilla leaves, turnip greens, baby cucumbers, spring garlic, etc, which you can adapt. This is just something I personally have done with a whole mess of brassica greens off the cuff and really enjoyed one year.
posted by Mizu at 12:39 PM on July 3, 2022 [1 favorite]
For shelling peas, you can make an incredible green pea pod soup. Here’s a recipe, but I’ve seen lots of variations on the method.
If you do spicy, make a slapdash kimchi paste with gochugaru, ginger, garlic, Korean radish, carrot, fish sauce, and Asian pear, all blended up. Then you take any greens you have (like from the different brassicas) or garlic scapes, thoroughly wash them and then completely obliterate with salt. Let them sit while salted for a couple hours and then rinse the salt off really thoroughly. Pat them dry and rub the kimchi paste all over. This is not going to ferment because it doesn’t have enough sugar in it and you aren’t going to let it sit out, because delicate greens and spring onions and such will get weird and melty, which is great if they are part of the kimchi paste but not the thing you are wanting to feature and enjoy. You can eat this fresh spicy concoction right away, or it is good in an airtight container in the fridge for about a week, and the greens will get more flavorful as it marinates. There are lots of methods online for fast kimchi for things like perilla leaves, turnip greens, baby cucumbers, spring garlic, etc, which you can adapt. This is just something I personally have done with a whole mess of brassica greens off the cuff and really enjoyed one year.
posted by Mizu at 12:39 PM on July 3, 2022 [1 favorite]
Beet greens are great! Rinse very well by dunking and swishing in a couple bowls of water (they’re sandy). Then chop into bite sized pieces and sauté briefly with some olive oil or butter, garlic, add salt and enjoy!
posted by nouvelle-personne at 12:55 PM on July 3, 2022
posted by nouvelle-personne at 12:55 PM on July 3, 2022
Roast tge thick parts of the cauliflower leaves, so juicy and delicious, not just "edible so I guess I'll eat it."
Slice off the rough outer parts of broccoli stems and chop the inside parts for a crunchy healthy snack. Or make pureed soup out of the whole broccoli stem for less waste.
Pods from fresh peas? Delicious and crunchy, I eat the whole thing raw. Just pull off the stringy but that connects the pod.
Carrot tops can be made into pesto, or at least mixed with basil because they're not that tasty on their own.
Salmon skin can be used to make salmon skin bacon.
posted by never.was.and.never.will.be. at 1:38 PM on July 3, 2022 [1 favorite]
Slice off the rough outer parts of broccoli stems and chop the inside parts for a crunchy healthy snack. Or make pureed soup out of the whole broccoli stem for less waste.
Pods from fresh peas? Delicious and crunchy, I eat the whole thing raw. Just pull off the stringy but that connects the pod.
Carrot tops can be made into pesto, or at least mixed with basil because they're not that tasty on their own.
Salmon skin can be used to make salmon skin bacon.
posted by never.was.and.never.will.be. at 1:38 PM on July 3, 2022 [1 favorite]
Use the green part of the leek just like you would the white.
Don't throw out mushroom stems when making stuffed mushrooms, chop or grate them and add into the mushroom filling.
posted by never.was.and.never.will.be. at 1:41 PM on July 3, 2022
Don't throw out mushroom stems when making stuffed mushrooms, chop or grate them and add into the mushroom filling.
posted by never.was.and.never.will.be. at 1:41 PM on July 3, 2022
Oh yeah! You know how when you make asparagus they always tell you to snap off the tough end?
You can save those, then dump them all in a pot with a little water, bring them to a boil and them simmer for about 45 minutes. Then strain that - you'll have a strongly asparagus-flavored stock. Saute some chopped onions and potatoes, dump in that asparagus stock and simmer until the potatoes are soft. Then puree that all up in a blender or with a stick blender and you have an asparagus-potato soup.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 1:42 PM on July 3, 2022 [1 favorite]
You can save those, then dump them all in a pot with a little water, bring them to a boil and them simmer for about 45 minutes. Then strain that - you'll have a strongly asparagus-flavored stock. Saute some chopped onions and potatoes, dump in that asparagus stock and simmer until the potatoes are soft. Then puree that all up in a blender or with a stick blender and you have an asparagus-potato soup.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 1:42 PM on July 3, 2022 [1 favorite]
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posted by the primroses were over at 7:31 AM on July 3, 2022 [3 favorites]