Marcella Hazan's three-ingredient tomato sauce is, simply
put, brilliant. So easy to make but boasting deep, complex flavors,
it's no wonder the recipe has been printed dozens of time in
various newspapers, on blogs, and in multiple cookbooks. When you
read the instructions on how to prepare the dish, one of the last
steps is to discard the onion. That's a mistake, says Epicurious.
They've got eight ways to make good use of that gorgeous,
carmelized beauty.
Reading about the novel uses for the onion led me to think about
other items that can be saved instead of thrown away. The first
that popped into my mind was vanilla bean. Once you scrape the
seeds for your recipe, don't toss the pod. You can plop it into
granulated sugar to make a heavenly scented vanilla sugar. Some
recipes even call for grinding up the entire bean, pod and all, for
intense vanilla flavor. Food52 provides five ideas for using a spent vanilla pod.
Fruit peels, especially citrus rinds, are another item you
should never toss. I make a habit out of zesting lemons and limes
before I juice them, regardless if the recipe calls for zest, and
store it in a small freezer container. That way I always have zest
on hand to liven up baked goods. Apple peels contain a significant
amount of pectin, so I likewise freeze those to use when making
jams and jellies for added thickening ability.
The leafy bits and stems of vegetables and herbs are also
excellent candidates for re-use. Cilantro stems can be blended into
soups or sauces. Fennel fronds and carrot tops are delicious
additions to salads, and beet greens are similar to Swiss chard in
flavor and texture. What "throw-away" bits do you reserve for a
special use?
Photo of Marcella
Hazan's tomato sauce III from The Washington Post by
Marcella Hazan