One way to minimize waste is to have a few go-to recipes for the unused odds and bits that accumulate in the vegetable crisper. One of mine is dry vegetable curry. It’s a quick and tasty way to cook up whatever vegetables you have on hand.
This past the weekend I made some roasted cauliflower florets, which meant that I had a cauliflower stem and some cauliflower leaves to use up – and those made up the bulk of my most recent dry curry. I also threw in a couple of carrots, mushrooms, and plum tomatoes, as well as a few green beans and part of an onion.
In case you’ve spent your life blithely throwing away cauliflower stems and leaves, let me just point out a few things:
- Cauliflower stems and leaves are food.
- My most recent cauliflower weighed about 2 lbs 9 oz, and of that 9 ounces was made up of stem and leaves. That’s 22% of the cauliflower. If you’ve spent your life throwing these parts away (and if we use that 22% as an average), then for every 9 cauliflowers you’ve ever bought, you’ve thrown away 2 cauliflowers worth of perfectly usable food that you paid for. You probably don’t do this with donuts. Or socks.
- Cauliflower stems may be less pretty than florets, but they taste similar, and are very tender. I usually just cut the big central stem in half, then cut those halves into slices.
- Cauliflower leaves are very tender and thin at the tips, and cook up like any leafy green. Near the base, the leaves are more like cabbage, but more watery (which balances hot spices nicely) and not as tough.
I served this week’s dry curry with some turmeric rice and watermelon rind chutney (which we’re close to running out of). Easy. Tasty.
Dry vegetable curry (for 1)
Ingredients
- Enough oil to grease your skillet
- 1 cup mixed chopped vegetables
- 1 tsp crushed garlic
- 1 tsp grated ginger
- 1 Tbsp tamarind paste (or 1 tsp lemon juice)
- 1 tsp cider vinegar
- ¾ tsp dry curry mix (see below)
Dry curry mix (these days)
- 2 parts cumin
- 2 parts paprika
- 2 parts turmeric
- 2 parts mustard powder
- 1 part garam masala
- 1 part cayenne pepper (or to taste)
- 1 part cinnamon
- 1 part brown sugar
- 1 part salt (or to taste)
Directions
Sauté the vegetables over medium heat in oil until just shy of desired tenderness. OK, this is vague, but the timing depends on the vegetables you use, the size you cut them, and how tender you like them. Also, you’ll want to add things that take longer to cook a little earlier. I like my vegetables crunchy, so this step usually takes me 4 or 5 minutes.
Add in the garlic and ginger, and sauté for an additional 30 seconds.
Add in the tamarind paste (or lemon), vinegar, and dry curry spice mix, and stir until vegetables are coated.
Serve.
| Annual per capita demand for cauliflower in the US | 1.7 lbs |
| Total annual demand for cauliflower in the US | 264,853 short tons |
| Unnecessary food waste created if no one in the US eats cauliflower stems & leaves (assuming they represent 22% of mass of cauliflowers) | 58,267 short tons |
| Equivalent number of 2lb 9oz cauliflowers | 45,476,682 |
| Cargo mass of a Boeing 747-8F | 295,800 lbs |
| Minimum number of Boeing 747-8Fs needed carry all that waste | 394 |
222 million tons 
Love it, am getting very fond of the leaves! Stalk is good for stir fry if peeled too
Me too – the base of the leaves has a nice bite without being tough. Unfortunately, they’re often chopped off by the time they get to the markets around here.
Awesome! We have yet to start buying watermelon. I’ll be sure to save the rind too to make some chutney. What a great idea…I love anything curry and stir-fry is so immediately pleasing.
Will be curious to hear how the chutney goes over. It’s been a big hit with us – such a nice accent to a meal. I’ll be making more this summer, though will change it up a bit.
Lovely spice blend…. and a great idea using the stems and leaves!
Thanks. Loving your blog by the way. I’m originally from Canada, and did a lot of travel along the bottom edge of it when I worked for CPR, but never got as far north as Nunavut (which was part of the Northwest Territories then). Love seeing images from there.
Great entry! I am not much of a cauliflower eater but love broccoli, and use everything including the stem. Usually in slices— as ingredient for miso-soup or mince with floret to make cream of broccoli. It’s also tasty to steam them for salads or enjoy it with a bit of soy sauce:)
Thanks, Mami. Must say, you are missing out on one of the world’s great pleasures – I love cauliflower, especially roasted. Though, broccoli stems are another nice edible that often gets trashed, and broccoli leaves are good too.
That recipe looks wonderful! Never thought of roasting my cauliflower. I have all the ingredients you mentioned but I don’t have garam masala??? I guess I will have to look for it! Thanks!
Garam masala is a mix of spices (you can find a lot of recipes on line, and make it at home).
The way I usually roast cauliflower is to toss it with oil and a bit of vinegar, as well as some seasonings (just salt and pepper, or that with some cayenne, cumin, gram masala, and cinnamon). Then roast them on a cookie sheet at 425F until it looks like this: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jfchenier/5863535263/ – about 35 minutes.
Looks absolutely delicious! My daughter and I love curry! Thanks for sharing! :)
Amazing recipe and I love how you write :D Appalling waste stats! :s
I am growing my first garden. My cauliflower is 90% leaves so I am happy to know they are edible and to have a recipe is even better. Thanks!
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