Spring flavours: Turning kitchen leftovers into culinary delights

Spring and summer are the best times for kitchen experiments and discovering new flavours. The potential in seasonal fruits and vegetables can be used unconventionally, creating unique snacks and dishes you never even dreamed of.

They seemingly belong in the bin; the only thing you can get from them is compost material. However, the remnants of seasonal products have a lot of potential worth utilising. Not only will you reduce waste, but you'll also create something delicious and save money. Surprising, your mother-in-law is guaranteed!

Pesto has captured the hearts of not only Italian cuisine lovers. It's the best trick for a quick and light meal. Just cook the pasta, mix it with the sauce, and you're done—delicious, warm, good cold. Although fresh basil naturally comes to mind when thinking of pesto, it can also be prepared from other leaves.

Crisp and bold radishes are an obvious addition to sandwiches or cottage cheese. The green leaves, however, often end up in the bin, which is quite a loss. They are a treasure trove of vitamins, minerals, and flavour. Just wash them thoroughly and blend them with olive oil, garlic, parmesan, and either walnuts or pine nuts. Finally, a bit of salt, a touch of lemon, and radish leaf pesto are ready to eat. You can use parsley or coriander in the same way.

An evening movie session with friends, the new season of your favourite show, or a party—during all these occasions, it's nice to munch on something. Here, you should reach for potato peels. Rinse them thoroughly, dry them, and cut them into thin slices. Then brush with olive oil, season with salt and pepper and your favourite spices like herbes de Provence, oregano, or paprika, and bake in the oven until golden, and they're ready.

Broccoli is an excellent source of vitamins and minerals, and we often deprive ourselves of valuable nutrients by discarding the leaves and stems. Don't waste them! Just sauté them in a pan with olive oil, garlic, and your favourite spices, or add them to an omelette, scrambled eggs, or frittata. They taste genuinely exquisite.

Hulling strawberries can take some time and perhaps fray your nerves a bit. It's a shame for the result of your effort to land in the bin when it can be used. You can blend strawberries with the hulls into a smoothie. The greens, in turn, are a real treasure trove of vitamins that will enhance the smoothie and a salad, pesto, or herbal infusion.

Do you have lemon or orange peel left after squeezing the juice? Perfect, because it can enhance water, adding flavour on a hot day. And flavoured water is much more appealing than plain tap water.

Vegetable scraps are also great for making a rich broth. It's good to have such broth in a jar or the freezer — it’s an excellent base for many dishes. You can use almost any vegetable scraps for broth, like carrot peels, onion skins, mushroom stems, or celery leaves. Adding some broken asparagus ends is also worth it to give it a unique, bold flavour.

Cooking with leftovers does not mean poor-quality cuisine. It's imaginative, creative, and full of flavours and colours. It’s worth unleashing your imagination and fully utilising the potential of vegetables and fruits. Cook with a zero-waste spirit.