Food writer Sophie Gordon is all about sustainable, vegan dishes celebrating what’s in season. Here she is on why and how to use the whole vegetable when we cook.

It might be pretty normal in your household to throw away potato peelings, cauliflower leaves and apple cores, but there’s a new movement encouraging us to use all those bits up to help curb the growing global food waste problem. After all, they are perfectly edible – even delicious, given the right treatment.

Plant-based chef and supper club host Sophie Gordon admits she’s received “a couple of looks” on the train when eating an entire apple, down to the thin stick.

“I was just thinking how funny it was, because I know it’s not the nicest part of the apple, but it’s still fine.” Nearly a third of all food produced globally goes to waste; it’s a staggering statistic, and as we all try to be more conscious of our ecological footprint, chucking extra food into a dish instead of the bin seems simple and doable.

Gordon, 29, is part of a growing number of people in the food world proving whole vegetable cooking is possible (and tasty) – similar to the movement using the entire animal. And while many people are getting on board with ordering cod’s cheeks and offal in restaurants or cooking with dairy cow meat, we might turn our noses up at the hairy end of a spring onion.

Her debut cookbook, The Whole Vegetable: Sustainable Recipes For A Healthier Planet, is a collection of seasonal recipes celebrating veg in its entirety (whether that’s whole-baked harissa cauliflower or roasted celeriac), tips for wasting less and using up leftovers, or using fruit and veg in ways you may not have thought of before (like cabbage ramen, chive and chickpea sandwiches, or maple and thyme roasted pears).

FRESH THINKING

It was her chef dad who first instilled the notion of minimal food waste in her. Now Brighton-based, Gordon spent time in Australia where she says “the food isn’t in packaging, you can buy one carrot instead of a whole bunch”, and she lived alone: “I’d often have half a pepper or a little bit of cauliflower left, so I always wanted to find new ways to use them, and not waste it.”

“With cauliflower or broccoli, people chop off a big portion of the stalk and then chuck it away,” Gordon says, “but you can just chop that up and add it to whatever you’re doing.” Why are we so conditioned to throw the harder parts away? You can boil those bits first, then put them in a pan.

We’re really missing a trick when it comes to lettuce, too. “People just chuck their lettuce away if it’s looking a bit limp, but you can just chuck it in and cook it as if it was spinach,” she says. Added nutrients, less waste – win-win.

And why are we so adamant potatoes need to be peeled? Gordon, who has been vegan for a decade, says she tends not to peel them (“I like the skin”) and “often you just need to give it a really good scrub, it’s exactly the same, it’s just another part of the vegetable”. If you absolutely must have your mash silky smooth or your roasties bare, you can still make tasty use of the peelings. “Peel them off and chop them really small, then fry them in oil, garlic, salt and pepper, and then they’re kind of like croutons or crisps. You could put them on a salad,” she says.

Don’t be afraid to experiment with the parts you often throw out, is the message.

“Celery leaves are just herbs – they’re a bit like parsley. You kind of feel like you’ve achieved something, you know?”

IN-SEASON

One thing Gordon swears by is keeping a ‘stock box’ in the fridge. “If I have leftover onion peelings or something like that, I keep building that box up, and I’ll make a stock maybe once every two weeks,” she says. Even if you can’t use it straight away, it’ll freeze.”

Naturally, being more sustainable means trying to eat produce only when it’s in season – but if you’re used to seeing every fruit and veg packaged up all year round on your local supermarket shelves, it takes some conscious effort.

“You just sometimes have to be OK with the fact that tomatoes you buy from a supermarket [out of season] aren’t going to be very nice – so just avoid them.

Sweetcorn and chestnuts are two of my favourite vegetables, but they don’t have a very long season – you might see corn late May until September, and then it’s gone.” But that makes it more exciting, she says, “And then you get used to it.” Ultimately, Gordon says: “You’re not going to be perfect, and you don’t have to be.”

The cookbook is littered with helpful non-waste tips and tricks: “More planning, more writing a list of what you’ve got [to get] before going to the shops,” she says. “When you say it out loud, people say, ‘Oh that’s really simple’. And we should probably start implementing them into our daily lives to become habits.

“But they are so simple – and that’s why we should do them.”

Whole Roasted Celeriac With Mushroom Gravy

“If this cosy, hearty recipe doesn’t scream winter, I don’t know what does. ­ The cooking time for the celeriac is a few hours, but it’s definitely worth the wait.”

(SERVES APPROXIMATELY 4)

INGREDIENTS:

◆ 1 medium celeriac

◆ 2 cloves of garlic, skins removed, bashed with the back of a knife and roughly broken up

◆ 1–2tbsp olive oil

◆ A few sprigs of fresh thyme

◆ 1tsp ground turmeric

◆ Salt and pepper

FOR THE GRAVY:

◆ Olive oil, for frying

◆ 1 medium onion, finely chopped or diced

◆ 250g mushrooms (chestnut, button, variety, etc), sliced

◆ 3 cloves of garlic, crushed or finely chopped

◆ Approximately 500–750ml vegetable stock

◆ 2tbsp fresh thyme, finely chopped

◆ 1½tbsp fresh rosemary, finely chopped

◆ A few fresh sage leaves, rubbed to release their flavour and roughly chopped

◆ 2–4tbsp nutritional yeast

◆ 1tbsp Dijon mustard

◆ 1tbsp sherry or white wine vinegar

◆ 2tbsp coconut aminos or soy sauce

◆ 2tbsp plain flour

◆ 65ml unsweetened plant-based milk

◆ Salt and pepper

TO SERVE:

◆ 1 lemon, cut into wedges

METHOD

➊ Preheat your oven to 200°C fan. Wash and scrub your celeriac well, removing excess dirt. Using a sharp knife, pierce it all over its whole surface, about one centimetre or so deep. Place the celeriac on a baking tray.

In a small bowl, combine your garlic, olive oil, thyme, turmeric and a good seasoning of salt and pepper. Using a pastry brush or your fingertips, cover the celeriac with the oil mixture, spreading the garlic pieces on the celeriac to roast too.

➋ Place in the oven on a low shelf and roast for about two and a half hours. It may take slightly more or less depending on your oven. Check on the celeriac throughout, spooning over any juices that appear in the bottom of the tray.

➌ Once it’s cooked you want a knife to be able to go through easily and for the outside to be a lovely golden brown. Once the celeriac has roasted, remove it from the oven and allow to cool slightly before serving.

➍ While the celeriac is cooking, you can make your gravy. Drizzle a tablespoon or so of oil into a wide pan and start to fry your onions until so and translucent. Add the mushrooms and garlic and continue to fry for a few minutes – the mixture will become quite moist, due to the mushrooms.

Once cooked and fragrant, add about 500 millilitres of the stock, the thyme, rosemary and sage, and stir well. Bring to a gentle boil, then reduce to a simmer.

➎ Add the nutritional yeast, mustard, vinegar, coconut aminos, flour and plant-based milk. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Slowly stir on a low heat to get rid of any lumps, allowing the liquid to thicken. For a thinner gravy, you can go ahead and add the rest of the stock here.

➏ Turn off the heat, then remove a third of the mushroom mixture and put to one side.

Either pour the rest of the gravy into an upright blender, or use a hand blender to blitz it until smooth.

➐ Season to taste, then put the blended liquid and the reserved mushrooms back into a saucepan. On a low medium heat, begin to warm the mushroom gravy, stirring to combine.

➑ To serve, place the celeriac, whole, on a serving plate. Score a cross on top and prise it open ever so slightly, pouring over the gravy and allowing it to seep through the gaps. Place the lemon wedges around the dish and season with extra salt and pepper if necessary. You could also plate up individually, cutting the celeriac into ‘steaks’ or any other way you like. Pour over the gravy and serve with lemon wedges, as above.

Lazy Day Pasta With Garlic Kale Sauce

“If you have kale or cavolo nero that’s on the turn, this pasta sauce really makes the most of your leftover veg – and it’s packed full of goodness, too.”

(SERVES 4-6)

INGREDIENTS:

◆ 1 large bunch of kale, any variety, roughly chopped (cavolo nero is also great)

◆ 1 large shallot or white onion, finely chopped

◆ 6 cloves of garlic: 4 crushed or finely chopped, 2 thinly sliced

◆ 2–4tbsp olive oil

◆ 2–4tbsp nutritional yeast

◆ 2tbsp Dijon mustard

◆ 4tbsp white wine

◆ 1tsp dried chilli flakes

◆ 1 lemon, juiced, plus a dash of zest

◆ Salt and pepper

◆ Approximately 340g dried pasta of choice

(penne, macaroni, rigatoni, cannelloni, fusilli, etc)

◆ 200g mushrooms, sliced thin

METHOD:

➊ Bring a pan of salted water to the boil. Add your chopped kale and cook for five to seven minutes, until wilted and cooked through.

You can also steam it. Once cooked, drain and blanch in cold water briefly to stop the cooking process.

➋ Transfer the kale to a blender and add your chopped shallot or onion, the four crushed or finely chopped cloves of garlic, the olive oil, nutritional yeast, mustard, white wine, chilli flakes, lemon juice and zest. Season with salt and pepper and blend until you have a relatively smooth but thick sauce mixture. You can add water to loosen if necessary. Season to taste, then pop to one side while you make the rest of the dish.

➌ Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil and add your desired pasta. Cook until al dente, about 10–12 minutes. Drain, then put back into the pot and cover. While your pasta is cooking, heat up about one tablespoon of olive oil in a saucepan. Once hot, add the two sliced cloves of garlic and sauté until golden and fragrant. Make sure you stir frequently to prevent them burning.

Add your sliced mushrooms to the garlic and sweat until so . You can add a dash more olive oil or water to the pan if it is a little dry. Season with salt and pepper.

➍ The mushrooms will sweat and wilt very quickly. Go ahead, pour in your kale sauce and heat up over a low heat, again stirring frequently. Heat until cooked through. Pour the sauce over the pasta in the pot and stir well. You can do this over a low heat if your pasta has cooled too much. Season with extra salt and pepper, chilli flakes and olive oil to taste.

➎ Dish up accordingly and enjoy!

Creamy Curried Pumpkin Split Pea Dal

“This dal is particularly special, made in the way I’d jotted down after spending time with a local Sri Lankan family, with half of the pumpkin blended to make it even creamier. I love using yellow split peas, mostly for their texture, and they really enhance the dish, adding a bit more bite and an almost nutty taste.”

(SERVES APPROXIMATELY 6-8)

INGREDIENTS:

◆ 2tbsp coconut oil

◆ 1tbsp black or yellow mustard seeds

◆ 1 white or brown onion, finely chopped

◆ 4 cloves of garlic, crushed or finely chopped

◆ 2tbsp freshly grated ginger

◆ 1tbsp freshly grated turmeric

◆ A large handful of fresh coriander, stems finely chopped, leaves roughly chopped

◆ A pinch of dried chilli flakes

◆ 4tsp ground cumin

◆ 2–3tsp curry powder (without salt preferred)

◆ A small handful of curry leaves, fresh or dried

◆ 1.5–2L vegetable stock

◆ 1 small pumpkin or squash, raw, any variety, skin on or o

◆ 550g dried yellow split peas, soaked for at least 4 hours

◆ Salt and pepper

◆ 1 cinnamon stick

◆ 250ml coconut milk

◆ 1 lime, juice and zest

METHOD

➊ Put about one to two teaspoons of your coconut oil into a large pot over a medium heat. Add the mustard seeds and cook until they start to pop – lower the heat when they do so and transfer them to a small bowl. Heat the rest of the coconut oil in the same pan, then add your onions.

Sauté until they start to go translucent and fragrant, about five to six minutes on a low heat. Add the garlic, ginger, turmeric, coriander stalks, dried chilli flakes, ground cumin, curry powder and half your curry leaves. Stir continuously and keep frying until everything becomes nice and fragrant. Put your mustard seeds back into the pan. If it starts to dry up, you can add a dash of your stock to help continue the frying process.

➋ Add the pumpkin, split peas, about half the fresh coriander and the rest of the stock to the pot. Stir and bring the mixture up to the boil, seasoning with salt and pepper. Once it reaches the boil, lower the heat to a simmer. Add the cinnamon stick and stir again. Cover and cook for about 45–55 minutes, until the split peas are cooked and the pumpkin is tender. Season again to taste.

➌ Once cooked, transfer about a quarter of the mix to a blender. You may need it to cool slightly first, depending on your blender type. Add the coconut milk and blend until smooth and creamy. Pour back into the pot and stir, adding the lime juice and zest and seasoning again to taste

The Whole Vegetable: Sustainable Recipes For A Healthier Planet by Sophie Gordon is published by Michael Joseph and available now.

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