sauce

They may be ugly but they’ll taste wonderful

Let’s be honest – none of us is perfect. Including the vegetables we so carefully nurture in our gardens. But why should the forked carrot, the split beet or the knobby tomato be shunned in favor of their more perfect counterparts?

The French started a national campaign several years ago called “The Inglourious Fruit.” It was a public relations campaign to get French citizens to slow food waste by purchasing and eating those fruits and vegetables that are not perfect. These were discounted in grocery stores and markets, and the campaign was a huge success. There are several companies in the US that do the same – ship not-so-perfect vegetables and fruits for a fee.

What a wonderful testament to humans – that we really do care about reducing food waste and feeding our bodies with healthy vegetables and fruits. I’ve made a promise to myself to try to use the oddballs in the garden and as much of every vegetable as I can.

While a chopped up tomato with the ugly parts removed may not make the best presentation, it still tastes just as good as a pristine heirloom. And face it, have you ever seen a perfect Brandywine tomato?

Use those misfits in sauce

Instead of discarding the chard leaves that have been somewhat chewed, I throw them in a bag in the freezer to add to a “glut” sauce or to make vegetable broth. I’ve seen recipes where cilantro stems, carrot tops, cucumber peelings can be pureed and frozen to use in soups in the winter.

One of my favorite things to do at this lush time of year when produce is absolutely overwhelming is make “glut” sauce. I put whatever is coming in, especially those imperfect vegetables, into a large roaster with herbs and garlic and roast until everything is soft. It then gets pureed or milled pasta sauce or spaghetti sauce base.

Here’s a great recipe to use those imperfect tomatoes and eggplants. And the recipe lends itself to whatever you have in the garden

Roasted eggplant and tomato soup

1 cup roasted eggplant (any type of eggplant, peel if the skin is tough)

1 cup roasted tomatoes

½ cup roasted onions

1-2 cloves roasted garlic

½ c. unsweetened coconut milk

½ c. vegetable or chicken stock

Salt and pepper to taste

Herbs of choice

You can put eggplant, tomatoes, onions and garlic in one roasting pan. Drizzle with olive and roast at 375 degrees until quite soft and beginning to caramelize. Mix all ingredients together and puree. Serve hot or cold. Drizzle with sriracha and a dollop of sour cream or plain yogurt if you choose.

Let’s be honest – none of us is perfect. Including the vegetables we so carefully nurture in our gardens. But why shun the forked carrot, the split beet or the knobby tomato in favor of their more perfect counterparts? If a peach has a bruise, can’t we just cut it out and enjoy the rest of the peach?

Food waste is an international issue, and one of the best ways to help stop food waste is to shift our thinking to accepting imperfect vegetables and fruits in our own kitchens and at our tables.

I’ve recently become acquainted with a wonderful organization called Bounty and Soul (https://bountyandsoul.org/), whose mission is to get food and nutrition and wellness education into everyone’s hands and to build community while doing it. I get to help out with cooking demonstrations and food distribution at their markets.

Every week I see wonderful smiles as people from all types of life walk away with not only free food, but information on nutrition bringing the food to their tables. Much of the food is donated by local farmers, markets and groceries, and the truth is that it’s not the picture perfect produce you see in the grocery store. It is all perfectly serviceable and delicious, just not perfect in appearance.

There is a new website from which you can order imperfect vegetables and fruit and have it delivered right to your door. Check out https://www.imperfectfoods.com/ for great information on food waste, not to mention access to wonderful produce. Their slogan is “Eat Ugly With Us”.

For my own resolution to reducing food waste, I’ve started keeping all my vegetable trimmings and am using them to make a delicious broth for soups. As I trim vegetables for a meal, I make sure to wash the leftovers well (getting all the dirt out of the onion top), and then throw them in a bag in the freezer. Once I have a bag full of not-so pretty beet greens, carrot tops, leek greens, parsley, mushrooms stems and cilantro stems, I put them in a slow cooker along with the remains of tomatoes and a few garlic cloves. I cover with plenty of water and let simmer twelve hours or so.

Once it’s done, I either strain the broth, squeezing out all the liquid I can, or I puree it (depending on what vegetables I’ve used). With a seasoning adjustment, this becomes the base for a delicious, nutritious soup. You can use it right away or freeze it for later.

My other favorite way to save the uglies is to make a batch of “glut” where everything goes in to roast and then gets pureed for a pasta sauce or spaghetti sauce base. This is the perfect way to use all of those tomatoes toward the end of summer. You can add any other vegetables and herbs you have an abundance of. It will taste a little different each time, but that’s the fun! Because it is milled, you don’t have to core the tomatoes or peel anything. Simply make sure everything is washed well.

6 lbs. tomatoes, quartered (or for an eggplant-based sauce, substitute eggplants)

1 ½ c. coarsely chopped carrots, tops and all

1 ½ c. coarsely chopped celery

1 ½ c. coarsely chopped onion

9 gloves garlic, chopped

6 T balsamic vinegar

1 bay leaf

1 ½ T fresh thyme, oregano, basil, parsley

1 ½ t. salt

1 T. pepper

Roast 45 minutes or until vegetables are soft. Run through a food mill, bag and freeze. Makes 2 quarts. Use for pasta sauce, over fish or chicken, or use as a base for chili or minestrone.

Kate's Garden Kitchen

Simple gardening, simple cooking.

Vegetable Misfits

Use those misfits in sauce

Ugly Fruit