Food Waste to Good Taste: 3 ways to use your cucumber peels

‘Food Waste to Good Taste’ is an exciting campaign that we are running in partnership with @HKU_Science and @Green.Hospitality. The study will measure the nutritional value of food scraps from restaurants across Hong Kong to highlight the local food waste issue in two folds: from an environmental perspective and from a health perspective. The campaign hopes to encourage restaurants and consumers to be more conscious of the loss of nutritious food waste and optimise food scraps into new recipes to further reduce food waste.

Veggie Stock

Ingredients:

• Cucumber peels

• Any wilted or unused vegetables 

• Vegetables scraps

Recipe:

• Look through your fridge/pantry for any veggies that are no longer in their peak condition (this includes the vegetables scraps you would have set aside like cucumber peels or onion skins, or any wilted vegetables).

• Chop the wilted veggies into chunks or finer pieces.

• Store the veggie chunks and veggie scraps into a storage bag and place the bag in the freezer. Keep adding to the bag until full.

• When you’re ready to make a vegetable stock, take the veggie bag out of the freezer and boil your vegetables chunks and scraps for at least 30 minutes. Boil up to 2 hours to maximise the flavour.

• Strain the vegetable pieces, then add salt and pepper to taste.

• Use the delicious stock as a base for a soup or sauce. You can also pour the stock into an ice cube tray to freeze for later use.

Cucumber Peel Sandwich Spread or Dip

Ingredients:

• ½ cup of cream cheese, softened

• 2 teaspoons of Dijon mustard

• Peels from 1 cucumber, coarsely chopped

• 2 cups of arugula, finely chopped

• Optional: 2 slices of prosciutto, chopped (or ¼ cup of bacon pieces)

• Salt and pepper

Recipe:

• In a large bowl add the cream cheese and mustard until combined. Fold in the cucumber peel, greens, and prosciutto, if using. Fold in the greens and prosciutto, working them into the mixture. Add salt and pepper to taste.

• Serve on toast or a baguette with slices of fresh tomato.

Cucumber Peel Salad Topping or Garnish

One of the simplest recipe to make as the perfect summer side dish accompaniment. You can also just use the peels as a garnish or to buff up your salads too.

Ingredients:

• Peels from 2 cucumbers (or more depending on how much you have)

• ½ large red onion, very thinly sliced

• ¼ cup of white wine vinegar

• 1 tablespoon of honey (or agave nectar)

• 1 teaspoon of sea salt

• 2 tablespoons of chopped fresh dill

• Optional: chopped fresh chives for garnish

• Freshly ground black pepper

Recipe:

• In a large bowl, toss together the cucumber, onion, vinegar, honey, and salt. Chill for 20 minutes.

• Transfer to a serving bowl, leaving any excess water behind. Sprinkle with the dill and chives, if desired. Season with several grinds of pepper and serve.