Cooking Scrappy: 100 Recipes to Help You Stop Wasting Food, Save Money, and Love What You Eat
By Joel Gamoran
3.5/5
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About this ebook
From the food-stoked star of the A&E series Scraps and the National Chef of Sur La Table, a ground-breaking cookbook that reshapes the way you look at ingredients and makes the most out of every resource in the kitchen, featuring 150 color photographs and 100 ingenious recipes that expand your mind, the way you cook, and how you live.
Have you ever felt guilty throwing out food? Of course, you have, but that’s all about to change. The stuff you always thought of as trash just became the main course. Look into the fridge. At first glance it might not look like there’s much to eat, just a mishmash of ingredients that don’t go together. But carrot tops can be pesto and brown bananas are the start of an incredible cake. Suddenly you have uncovered an undiscovered treasure chest for making the most out of “nothing.”
Joel Gamoran dives into the kitchen, changing expectations, not just about how to use all ingredients to their max, but how to make the most of every resource in your kitchen. Flip over that cast-iron skillet for a stellar pizza stone. Don’t throw away those apple cores, shrimp shells, or leftover pickle juice. Transform them into gorgeous meals, such as Apple Core Butter Roasted Duck, Shrimp Shell Chowder, or Pickle Juice Brined Pork Chops.
Think outside of the recipe box—learn to be creative when it comes to making food. Resourcefulness is an essential part of cooking; Gamoran’s experiences in culinary schools and as a professional chef have taught him that everything in the kitchen can, and should, be used. His relaxed laid-back tone tackles a serious subject. It embraces a lifestyle that eliminates waste, helps the environment, and enables home cooks to stretch their food budgets.
Cooking Scrappy saves you money, helps to save the planet, and ups your cooking game. Joel stands for the bruised, the forgotten, and the back of the fridge. Will you stand with him?!
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Reviews for Cooking Scrappy
3 ratings1 review
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Cooking Scappy:100 Recipes To Help Stop You Wasting Food, Save Money and Love What You Eat.by Joel Gamoran20183.5 / 5.0You will never have to throw scraps away again. This guy uses everything....beer skin, tomato skin, squash seeds, pea shells and carrot tops, to name a few... This features everything from main dishes to desserts. Forward by Katie CouricTry the Crushed BlackBerry Old Fashioned Donut, or the Onion Skin Fried Pickles. Plum Icebox Mousse looks really good.
Book preview
Cooking Scrappy - Joel Gamoran
Dedication
This book is dedicated to Mom and Dad.
Scraps are simply trash without you.
Contents
Cover
Title Page
Dedication
Foreword by Katie Couric
Introduction: Why Scrappy?
Cooking Scrappy
Scrappy Doesn’t Mean Crappy
Saves You $$$
Yay, Planet!
Up Your Cooking Game
A Scrappy Kitchen
Building a Scrappier World
1: B-Fast & Brunchy
Chard Stems
Leek Tops
Beet Skin
Bacon Fat
Brown Bananas
Mango Pits
Caul Fat
Squash Seeds
Rainbow Chard Stem Shakshuka
Broccoli Rabe and Sausage Fat Frittata
Yesterday’s Tortillas Chilaquiles
Caul Fat Maple Breakfast Sausage
Schmaltzy Potato Pie
Leek Top Baking Sheet Hash
Sally’s Beet Skin Gravlax Sandys
Beet Skin Gravlax
Bacon Fat Biscuit and Apple Butter Sandwiches
Naked Vanilla Pod Custard Toast
Crushed Blackberry Old-Fashioned Doughnuts
Bittersweet Whole Lemon Curd Giant Pancake
Mint Stem Sugared Grapefruit
Everyday Brown Banana Smoothie
Mango Pit Jam Mess
Tahini Autumn Squash Seed Granola
2: Lunch
Pea Shells
Papaya Seeds
Brown Avocado
Shrimp Shells
Lobster Shells
Scraped Corn Cobs
Asparagus Bottoms
Parmesan Rinds
Pea Shell Soba Noodle Salad
Papaya Seed–Dressed Little Gems
Iced Veg with Overripe Avocado Goddess
Chicories Caesar with Anchovy Oil Croutons
Stale Bread Panzanella
Wilted Lettuce Soup
Tomato and Nectarine Salad with Cucumber Seed Dressing
Shrimp Shell Chowder
Spent Coffee Short Rib Chili
Corn Cob Soup
Asparagus End Soup with Mint and Crispy Potato Skins
Cheese Rind Tomato Bread Soup
CSALT (Chicken Skin, Avocado, Lettuce, and Tomato) Sandwich
Lamb Neck Naan’wich
Shriveled Grape Chicken Salad
Feta Water Farro
Scrappy Lobster Roll
3: Bites & Apps
Onion Skins
Fish Skeleton
Potato Skins
Lardo Cornbread with Hot Pepper Honey Lardo Butter
Onion Skin Fried Pickles
Indian Spiced Fried Fish Bones
Squished Tomato Toast
Green Tomato Jam, Cheese, and Crackers
Salmon Skin Crackers
Aquafaba Ranch and Radishes
Spicy Potato Skin Crisps
4: Scrappy Hour
Tomato Seconds
Peach Pits
Apple Skin
Pineapple Rind
Tomato Seconds Bloody Mary
Sumo Peel Negroni
Apple Skin Hard Sparkling Cider
Amaretto Peach Stone Sour
Vanilla Pod Rum and Coke
Pickle Jartini
Pineapple Rind Tiki Cocktail
5: Dinner
Rosemary Stems
Broccoli Stems
Pasta Water
Leftover Rice
Mushroom Stems
Fish Collars
Pancetta Ends
Mustard Dregs
Carrot Tops
Beef Shin Oven Bolognese
Chuck Eye with Carrot Top Salsa Verde
Radiatore with Carrot Top Pesto
Pasta Water Cacio e Pepe
Rosemary Stem Grilled Lamb
Broccoli Stem Chile Stir-Fry
Yesterday’s Fried Rice with Kimchi
Mushroom Stem Risotto
Pickle Juice–Brined Pork Chops
Heart of the Butt Tonnato
Fish Collar Cioppino
Clams and Bucatini with Pancetta Ends
Halibut Cheek Tacos
Apple Core Butter Roasted Duck
Spatched Turkey with Turkey Scrap Gravy
Turned Wine Fried Chicken
Scrappy Green Sauce Drumsticks
Mustard Dregs Chicken Breasts
Kitchen Sink Upside-Down Skillet Whey Pizzas
6: Sides
Beet Stems
Radish Tops
Brussels Sprouts Leaves
Zucchini Ends
Whole Cauliflower Gratin
Beef Fat Spuds
Beet Greens with Nutmeg and Clementine
Sweet Corn Cob Grits
Broccoli Stem Popped Black-Eyed Pea Slaw
Frankensprouts
Zucchini Ends with Butter Beans
Glazed Radishes and Their Tops
7: Desserts
Spent Coffee
Strawberry Tops
Stale Potato Chips
Spent Grain
Bruised Pears
Basil Stem Panna Cotta with Figs
Spent Coffee Ice Cream
Pineapple Core Foster
Bloomed Chocolate Malt Mug Cake
Strawberry Top Shortcake
Wrinkled Blueberry Crostata
Stale Potato Chip Chocolate Chip Cookies
Squished Plum Icebox Mousse
Overripe Banana Sheet Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting
Carrot Pulp Loaf Cake with Brown Sugar Mascarpone
Bruised Pear Pandowdy
Spent Grain Graham Crackers
8: Staples & Condiments
Chicken Bones
Squeezed Lemons
Apple Cores
Fish Bone Stock
Chicken Back Stock
Veg Scraps Stock
Herb Stem Salt
Yesterday’s Breadcrumbs
Apple Core Butter
Whole Lemon Curd
Preserved Squeezed Lemons
Grapefruit Rind Marmalade
Scrappy Water
Rendered Animal Fat
Acknowledgments
Index
About the Author
Copyright
About the Publisher
Foreword
When I was growing up, my mother made sure my siblings and I were dedicated members of the Clean Plate Club. Let’s be honest: I am still a tried-and-true member today.
She instilled in us a sense that food was sacred, something to be grateful for; something to savor. My mother taught me that a good meal could be a gathering tool; a prompt for good conversation and companionship. But above all, she taught my brother and sister and me to respect food: to understand where it came from, how it was prepared, and the magical way it somehow nourished both our bodies and hearts.
From the moment I met Joel, I could tell he cared for food with the same warmth and reverence my mother had. He is one of the most enthusiastic and passionate people I’ve ever met . . . but it’s his love for food—and food scraps—that makes Joel one of the most forward-thinking chefs in the business.
That you’ve picked up this book means you might already be aware of the staggering economic impact of wasted food: 40 percent of the food in the United States is wasted and 20 percent of the food we buy never gets eaten—for the average family of four, that’s $1,500 a year in the trash.
But the environmental impact is perhaps even more devastating. Food is the biggest contributor to landfills, and the methane gases that are released contribute more to climate pollution than all the cars in the state of Georgia combined. Our food system is a complicated and global problem, but an alarming 42 percent of our wasted food occurs at home.
That means the at-home chef has a lot of say in this fight against food waste and, frankly, a lot of power to change these statistics.
From the tops of your strawberries to the stalest slices of bread, inside this book you’ll find one hundred recipes that will remind you of the power food has to comfort us and nourish us, as well as the power we have to see a little differently, make a few changes, and have a lasting positive impact on the food sources we love.
My mother taught me to respect food, and Joel taught me to save it . . . so I’m inviting you to join a movement that makes real change by getting scrappy. Who’s with me?
— Katie Couric
Introduction
Why Scrappy?
So, there I am, freaking out on the F train. Not that that is unusual—it’s absolutely normal for me to have massive anxiety on a packed sweaty subway from Manhattan to Brooklyn—but tonight is different. I’m cooking to celebrate my fiancé’s new job. I’m an hour and a half late, and there is no way that I am going to beat her home. But, hell, I’m a man in love. I am determined to make this work.
I jet out of the subway, jump on my scooter, and head straight to the butcher to grab one of his rock star racks of lamb. Normally Staubitz Market trims their racks till the bones are bald, but I have plans for the discarded fat-streaked scraps, so I ask for a mess of trim. (Butchers either throw the unsalable stuff they trim from steaks, chops, and roasts into ground meat, or they sell it to a renderer.) They’re usually happy to give it to their good customers. Back on the scooter, I hop over to the cheap market on Court Street to snag some Yukon Gold potatoes and a handful of dandelion greens. I don’t really have a plan. I just figure lamb, potatoes, greens—how can this go wrong?
Crashing through the front door, I barely hit every other step on the way to our third-floor walk-up, completely forgetting that our oven is on the fritz. Also, out of olive oil! Dang, it’s too late to go back to the store. I’ve got just thirty minutes to whip up something spectacular.
I season the lamb with a little cumin, then salt and pepper, and sear the meaty parts in a dry cast-iron skillet. This smells incredible! If you only have one piece of equipment in your kitchen, it’s got to be a cast-iron skillet. The most versatile pan you will ever own! I move the lamb to one side of the pan and throw in the lamb scraps. In a few minutes, I have a slick of lamb fat for frying the potatoes.
I am making Angiolina’s favorite crispy Hasselback potatoes, which call for fanning the taters. No sweat. Got a hack for that. Just put a wooden spoon on a work surface, lay a potato in the hollow of the spoon, and slice. The edges of the spoon stop the knife before it cuts all the way through. Now, normally Hasselbacks are baked, but remember, no oven. No problem. All I need is another pan. I brown the potatoes all over in the lamb fat in the first pan, scatter on salt, pepper, and nutmeg, throw in a fist of water to create some steam, and invert a second pan over the top. Instant stovetop oven.
Now all that’s left is to sauté the greens and I’ve made it. Oil!?! What the hell am I going to do for oil? When in doubt, stare into the fridge. And once again the fridge gods deliver. There in the back corner of the top shelf is a single anchovy, slippery in its can of oil. Perfect. Anchovy and oil go into another pan along with some garlic and red chile. Greens in, and I still have ten minutes left before Ang comes home.
I line the kitchen table with some brown parchment paper and scribble CONGRATS!
down the middle with a marker. I grab some candles left over from Chanukah, melt the bottoms, stick them on a little petri dish, and place them on the table. I don’t have speakers, so I stick my phone in a coffee mug to project the sound and click to whatever is first on my playlist as I poke the potatoes to check for tenderness.
The doorknob turns. I give Angiolina a bear-hug and let out a huge sigh of relief. We still talk about how good that meal was.
I think about all the meals I’ve cooked and how the best ones are never overthought and overplanned. They just seem to sort of happen. I’m a trained chef. I’ve worked in amazing restaurants where I’ve had access to cutting-edge equipment and stellar ingredients that came together into meals worth hundreds of dollars, but those are not the meals I’m most proud of.
Cooking scrappy celebrates perfection that can be made from the imperfect, the neglected, and the underused. When making the most out of what you have is your only option, you can almost always come up with something gorgeous. Why not cook like this all the time?
Cooking Scrappy
Cooking scrappy is about expanding your mind, the way you cook, and the way you live. A stockpot can be a mixing bowl, but so can the produce drawer from your fridge. Being scrappy is using every resource you have to get from point A to point B. Think outside the recipe box, and be open to using your kitchen, your cooking equipment, plus the stuff that you never thought to cook on and all of your ingredients to their absolute max.
I am the National Chef for Sur La Table and I have taught thousands of cooking classes to every level of home cook. In one class I noticed everyone’s scrap bowls filled to the brim. I saw shrimp shells, carrot peels, and onion skins. A bunch of garbage! Then I took a minute and realized this would never fly in a restaurant. Nothing is allowed to go to waste when you’re a restaurant owner. Every cent counts or you will fail.
From the beginning of my cooking career, I knew I didn’t want to be locked up in a restaurant kitchen. My professional goal has always been to motivate people to get into their own kitchens and start cooking. I don’t think there is a better way to connect with others and with your world. Food waste is a growing concern and is becoming a hot button issue in food news. People are looking for practical ways to curtail their wasteful habits. The following pages are filled with a bazillion ways to get scrappier, better your environmental impact, save money, and eat some life-altering food while you’re doing it.
Scrappy Doesn’t Mean Crappy
I love creating beautiful food from the ugly and discarded, the typically trashed ingredients that make up almost 50 percent of our nation’s landfill. The United States has more food waste than any other nation on Earth! It’s inspiring to resurrect squeezed-out lemon rinds into a fragrant, flavorful lemon curd that can become the filling for a lemon pie, the base for an Asian lemon sauce, or the centerpiece of a super-sophisticated breakfast of a giant lemon curd pancake. And unlike lemon curd made solely from the juice, the typical way of doing it