Delicious recipes using ingredients that you would normally put in the bin
Home Pickled Gherkins
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Ingredients:
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1 litres boiling water
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300ml vinegar
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2 tbsp salt
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1 kg Gherkins
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3 Garlic heads
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1 large bunch dill (about 200g, cut into 10cm pieces)
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1 tsp mustard seeds
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3 bay leaves
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1 tsp black peppercorn
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6 baby onions
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100g sugar
Method:
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Wash the gherkins or cucumbers. Leave gherkins whole, but if using cucumbers, cut in half lengthways and remove any seeds by running a teaspoon down the length of each half. Cut each half into 3–4 slices lengthwise.
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Place in a shallow dish, sprinkle with the salt lightly and toss to distribute the salt. Cover the surface with baking paper and weigh it down with a plate. Leave in a cool place for 12–24 hours.
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Tip into a colander and rinse the gherkins or cucumbers under cold water. Drain well, tossing to encourage any excess water to drain away. Leave for 5–10 minutes to dry.
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Place a dill head (or fronds) into each sterilised jar. Add a teaspoon of peppercorn and mustard seeds and a garlic clove to each jar.
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Put the vinegar, water and the sugar in a large saucepan. Heat gently, stirring all the time, until the sugar has dissolved. Add the gherkins or cucumber and simmer for 5–6 minutes for gherkins, or 3–4 minutes for cucumber (the skins of both will turn an olive green and the cucumber flesh slightly translucent). Remove from the heat.
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Pack the gherkins or cucumber into the prepared jars. Return the remaining liquid to the heat and bring to the boil. Pour into the jars, making sure the liquid completely covers the contents. Screw the lid tightly and invert the jar for a minute or so, to ensure the lids are sterilised, then turn the right way up and leave to cool.​
Candied Lemon and Orange Peel
Ingredients:
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2 lemons or 2 oranges
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400 ml cold water
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400g white sugar
Method:
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Cut lemons into slices about 1/4 inch thick and remove the fruit pulp.
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Cut the rings in half so the peels are in long strips.
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Bring water and lemon peel to a boil in a small pan.
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Drain water, and repeat with fresh cold water.
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Repeat the boiling step three times).
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Drain and set peels aside.
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Combine 400ml fresh water with 400g sugar.
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Bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar.
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Reduce heat to low and stir in citrus peels; simmer until the white pith is translucent. Store peels in syrup, refrigerated, to keep them soft, or allow them to dry.
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Toss dry candied peels in additional sugar and store airtight at room temperature.
This is a good way to use up lemon and orange rind and it goes good with coffee or on cakes. It really does taste like candy, and you can do this to any citrus fruit. If you use oranges you can add brandy, cloves or other spices the mixture. Chop it up and put it in cookies, or just eat it by itself.
Passion fruit skin jam
Ingredients:
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12 large passion fruits
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1.5 litres water
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80ml lemon juice
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200g sugar
Method:
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Wash passionfruit well, discard stems. Remove pulp from passionfruit and reserve; this is added to the jam later.
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Place skins in large saucepan, add water and lemon juice, cover, bring to the boil, reduce heat, simmer covered for about 30 minutes or until inside of skins are puffy and changed in colour to burgundy and soft enough to remove from the outer layer.
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Drain, taking care to reserve liquid.
Scrape all skins with a teaspoon until they are free from pulp, discard outer skins. -
Measure pulp, allow 200g sugar to each 200g of pulp.
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Return pulp and sugar to saucepan reserved liquid. Stir constantly over heat, without boiling, until sugar is dissolved.
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Boil rapidly uncovered, without stirring, for about 30 minutes or until mixture sets to a spreading consistency when tested on a cold saucer.
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Add reserved passionfruit pulp, stand 10 minutes before pouring into hot sterilised jars; seal when cold.
Banana Peel Pulled Pork Sandwich
Ingredients:
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2 medium organic bananas skin (yellow), firm and not quite ripe
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1 ½ tbsp olive oil
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1 tsp soya sauce
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1 tsp hot smoked paprika
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¾ tsp chili powder
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¾ tsp dry mustard
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2 garlic cloves
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1 small onion
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¼ tsp cumin
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1 tsp brown sugar
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2 tsp ketchup
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A pinch of salt
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Coleslaw
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1 bun
Method:
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Wash the bananas well.
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Slice the top and bottom of the bananas, remove the peels and scrape the white part off the inside with a spoon.
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Shred the peels with a fork and cut them into 2 to 3 inch-long pieces. Transfer to a bowl and add the olive oil, paprika, chili, mustard, soya sauce ,garlic, onion and cumin. Mix well and set aside to marinate
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Heat a pan over medium heat and add the shredded banana peels. Add a small splash of water to help them steam and tenderise.
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The cooking time will depend on how ripe your bananas are (the riper they are the faster they cook) so start tasting after a couple of minutes. It’s important that they are tender enough to bite through but not so overcooked that they turn to mush. They should be done in around 5 - 10 minutes. Add another splash of water and keep cooking if the pan goes dry before they are tender.
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Add the ketchup sauce and give them another 30 seconds to a minute more to incorporate the flavour. Add a pinch of salt to taste. Remove from the heat and let cool for a minute.
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Place the banana peels on your bun and top with your coleslaw. Ready to Serve
Watermelon Rind Curry
This watermelon rind curry is a quick, easy, and healthy one-pot dinner that cuts back on food waste! It's vegan, gluten free, and on the table in 30 minutes.
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Ingredients:
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1 onion, chopped
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1 red pepper, chopped
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2 carrots, chopped
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1 tbsp red curry paste
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1/2 tsp ground turmeric
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1/2 tsp ground coriander
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1/2 tsp ground cumin
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300g diced watermelon rind (green outer skin removed)
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400ml coconut milk
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100ml vegetable stock
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olive oil
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coriander for garnish
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rice, for serving
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Method:
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Heat a drizzle of olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion, bell pepper, and carrot and cook until softened.
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Add curry paste, turmeric, coriander, and cumin and cook until fragrant.
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Add watermelon rind, coconut milk, and vegetable stock. Stir to combine.
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Bring mixture to a boil, then cover and reduce heat too low. Simmer until watermelon rind is tender, about 20 minutes.
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Serve over rice and garnish with chopped Coriander