I’ve been lately challenging myself to cook more zero-waste. There are some shrewdness I have applied to reduce the amount of organic waste we produce in our home.
Buy only what you eat
Let’s start basic. Avoid going to the store while hungry. You’ll end up buying more than planned and probably something readymade or an unhealthy snack. Whereas, if you plan your groceries, you are forced to think about what will you cook in the following days and actually stick to the plan. It is challenging to find the balance between not going every day to the store and buying only what you can eat, but it can be done by planning a week’s meals for example.
Zero-waste: don’t peel those root vegetables
Buy organic root vegetables, wash them well, and you won’t have to peel them. Small hack, but it saves so much waste. Plus, the peel is highly nutritious.
Slow Juice all those fruits and vegetables
This comes mainly from the fact that we like to make cocktails and mocktails and use a lot of citrus peels for that. So, if we wouldn’t do anything about it, our refrigerator would be full of peeled lemons and oranges. What to do with them? Just throw them into your slow juicer, add any kind of leftover cucumber, melon, carrots or other fruits or vegetables you might have laying around, mix in some honey and you’re good to go.
Another way to use whole lemons is making a lemon tart. I know, you’ve always heard that the white part of the lemon is bitter. And that part’s true, but it can be neutralized with the right dosage of sweetener.
This zero-waste lemon tart is also topped by an aquafaba meringue, which is done using the brine from chickpeas or beans. Who could guess that from such an unpleasant looking water one could make such a glorious meringue? The wonders of chemistry and no-waste cooking! So, if you try to make my basil hummus with no tahini, don’t throw that brine but give these meringues a try!
Lemon tart with aquafaba meringue
Ingredients
For the brisee dough:
- 90 g cold butter
- 180 g flour
- 45 ml cold water (2 ½ tbsp)
For the lemon filling:
- 1 lemon
- 100 g sugar
- 1 egg
For the aquafaba meringue:
- 75 ml aquafaba
- 50 g powdered sugar
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
Instructions
For the brisee dough:
- Cut the butter into cubes
- Place the butter and the flour into a blender and blend until the ingredients will have turned into a sandlike structure
- Add the water and mix
- Wrap the dough into a cling film or beeswax wraps and let it rest for half an hour
For the lemon filling:
- Cut the lemon into chunks, place all the ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth
Assembly
- Preheat the oven at 175°C (350F)
- Unwrap the brisee dough, place it on a baking paper and roll it with a floured rolling pin
- Butter the mini tart stamps and place the brisee dough in the stamps
- With a fork, prick the dough in the stamps
- Pour the lemon filling into the stamps, not making it quite reach the edge
- Bake for 30 minutes
For the aquafaba meringue:
- Whip the aquafaba until it will form soft, white peaks
- Mixing constantly, add the powdered sugar, one tablespoon at a time and the lemon juice. Mix until firm, white peaks can be formed
- Once the lemon tarts will be ready, pipe the meringue onto the tarts and either torch burn it or bake it in oven for 5-7 minutes at 175° C (350F)
