Vegan, zero waste chef and Eco-Age contributor Max La Manna shares two ways to work your leftover broccoli stem into a delicious pasta dish.
“Please, finish your broccoli.”
Did you or your children find it troubling to finish this cruciferous vegetable? I can still hear my father’s voice as he begged that I finish the entire broccoli including the stem too! I guess this was the ‘planting of the seed’ that began my zero waste lifestyle. I’m here to offer an easy no waste recipe, so you can utilise the entire vegetable and send nothing to landfill.
Broccoli is a naturally high in fibre, anti-inflammatory, detoxifying and boasts a powerful antioxidant content not found in any other vegetable. Can you guess that it’s my favourite vegetable to eat now? You can enjoy roasting, steaming, sautéing, pureeing and even having this hearty and nutrient rich vegetable raw.
However, most of and the best bits of the broccoli are being tossed to the bin. There is so much you can do with this wonderful anti-ageing vegetable – yes, broccoli is enriched with vitamin C that can help reduce those fine lines and wrinkles, and even acne.
Let’s save our broccoli stalks and reduce our food waste.
Serves 4
1 broccoli crown, chopped
5 roma tomatoes, quartered sliced
1 yellow onion, sliced thinly
2 garlic cloves, diced
¼ cup nutritional yeast
1 lb fusilli (or try my DIY home pasta recipe and make your own)