Do you know how to cook sustainably?

The new episode of the podcast “Sustainable Food” talks about sustainable cooking and how we can use all the ingredients so as not to waste anything

Sustainable gastronomy is a trend that arises due to the urgency of reducing food waste and greenhouse gas emissions. Next to Laura González, head of nutrition, health and well-being at Nestlé in Spainwe know how to cook sustainably through different recipes that allow us to take advantage of all foods.

What is sustainable gastronomy?

“When we talk about sustainable gastronomy we are referring to a kitchen capable of preparing tasty dishes with local ingredients, promoting seasonal and organic ingredients, and respecting cultural and social roots”, explains the nutritionist.

It is a kitchen in which vegetarian food they play a fundamental role and in which the consumption of animal protein is limited, precisely to avoid excessive consumption of products or foods that require more water, land or energy to produce them.

Although the specialist insists that none of this makes sense if it is not accompanied by reuse recipes or if we don’t know how to take full advantage of a food.

What types of recipes can we make to avoid food waste?

Some of the simplest recipes that the specialist proposes for cooking sustainably are:

• Russian salad: typical of summer, although we can prepare it throughout the year, adapting it to the ingredients of each season. And to make it more sustainable, we can make certain variations in this dish that allow us to reduce the proteins of animal origin and increase those of plant origin, such as substituting tuna or tuna for Good, the vegetable alternative to tuna made with pea protein. A second idea is to make a mayonnaise that is vegetable.
• The samfaina: a very good option to take advantage of the vegetables that we have left in the fridge. Although the traditional recipe is based on grilling the vegetables, we can also make them in the oven or with the airfryer.

Are legumes essential in sustainable cooking?

Legumes are a fundamental component for cooking in a sustainable way, since they have numerous advantages: they need fewer natural resources, they last longer and they are very cheap.

EFE / David Fernandez

And, although there are many excuses around their consumption, such as that they are indigestible, the nutritionist points out some solutions:

• Boil the legumes for at least twelve hours together with spices or aromatic herbs, such as cumin, turmeric or bay leaf.
• Do not take too large amounts in a single take, but distribute them in several intakes.
• remove the skin.

Legumes are useful for preparing all kinds of recipes, from stews and hamburgers to cold salads, purées, pates, creams, even snakcs to snack between meals.

Some of the ideas that the expert proposes are: Pumpkin and bean cream, pea cream with hamdifferent varieties of hummus or even sweet desserts, such as vegan tart with beans, grape y pistachios.

How can we take advantage of the most wasted food?

Among the foods that are wasted the most every day are vegetables, bread or pasta. In this sense, the specialist shares some tricks so as not to waste anything.

Vegetables and vegetables

Laura González, head of Health and Nutrition at Nestlé/Courtesy photo

The stems are also edible, so they can be steamed, sautéed, included in an omelet, or used as a flavoring for creams or stews. As for the skins that we have left over, the expert suggests preparing a cream of zucchini o carrot that also includes them, since they contain many nutrients such as vitamins, minerals and fiber.

Along the same lines, he points out other alternatives, such as storing them in the freezer and taking advantage of them later to prepare a Vegetables soup or do crujientes chips.

They also have a place in the pods of green beans, broad beans and snow peas, which can make our salads more diverse dishes.

“We can season all those dishes with the tangerine or other citrus skins that they are well washed, passed through the airfryer and shredded,” he says.

Bread

It is a staple in our diet, which is why we must bet on quality bread, made with unrefined or directly wholemeal flour.

We can grate the leftover bread and use it to make croquettes or to prepare picatostes y toasts. As for the hard bread, it is great for the classic ones French toast Easter, or to make some french toast o one pudding banana.

Also remember that there are other recipes in which leftover bread takes center stage, such as garlic soupsof onion waves oil and gas. Or facing the summer, andwhite garliche Salmorejo or the Gazpacho.

boiled pasta

And to take advantage of the boiled pasta, the Nestlé nutritionist proposes as a solution to prepare a dish of Neapolitan origin: the frittata“a kind of fried pasta omelette with egg to which Parmesan or other cheese and milk are put.”