Zero-waste cooking is not about penny-pinching. At its heart, it’s about honouring the earth. And your inner David Attenborough.
The Environmental Protection Agency has found that 41pc of us throw away bread weekly. Bread is not costly, but that ain’t the point, my friends. Wasting bread squanders limited resources and damages the health of our planet. Participating in food waste is like waging a war against ourselves.
Today, it’s all about crazy-delicious breadcrumbs. I happily tear and collect old bread in a reusable freezer bag. It’s less about saving money here, than getting into a habit of reducing food waste.
Repurposing old bread is one of the easiest habits to acquire this year, and one of the most satisfying. Try fried breadcrumbs on top of soup — insanely tasty — or scatter some across greens with chilli flakes. Add some fresh thyme while frying breadcrumbs in butter, and your pasta will reach operatic heights.
Yup. This bag of old bread is going to tickle your serotonin silly.
Breaded aubergine with feta cream
Serves 2-3
You will need:
1 large aubergine
80g stale (not fresh) bread
1 tablespoon flour (optional)
2 teaspoons ground cumin
Zest of 1 lime
Generous pinch of chilli flakes or hot chilli powder
½ teaspoon dried garlic
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1 egg
Butter, ghee or olive oil, to fry
200g feta cheese
6 tablespoons plain yoghurt
1 clove garlic, peeled and grated
1 Briefly clean the aubergine skin with vinegar, water and a tea towel. Thinly slice downwards, creating as many aubergine ‘steaks’ as possible. The first and last slice will contain too much skin — better to roast these another day.
2 Set aside the aubergine ‘steaks’ while you make the spicy crumb coating. Tear up your stale bread into small pieces and blast in a food processor or coffee grinder. You’re looking for very fine breadcrumbs. If they are too big, they won’t stick to the aubergine. Feel free to add a tablespoon of flour to help it along in your food processor.
3 Next, add the ground cumin, lots of lime zest, the chilli flakes or hot chilli powder, whichever you’re using, and the dried garlic. Season well with salt and freshly ground pepper and blitz again. Arrange this spicy crumb coating in a shallow bowl.
4 In a separate shallow bowl, beat the egg. Dip each aubergine ‘steak’ into the beaten egg, then dip into the spicy crumb coating, making sure both sides are covered. Repeat until all the aubergine slices are coated. Set aside.
5 Warm a frying pan over a medium heat, and dot with butter, ghee, or olive oil, whichever you’re using. Wait until the fat is hot before placing a few slices of breaded aubergine into the pan. Fry on both sides for 3-4 minutes. If the pan is too hot, the breadcrumbs will burn before the aubergine is cooked in the centre. If the heat is too low, the breadcrumbs will fall off. It’s a fine balance, but a joyful medium flame always works for me.
6 While the aubergine is cooking, make the feta cream. Crumble the feta into a blender and add the yoghurt and the grated garlic. Blast into a tangy, smooth cream.
7 To plate up, spread some feta cream on a plate. Layer the breaded aubergines on top. Oven-roasted tomatoes pair really well with this dish. Breaded aubergines are also a great vegetarian breakfast option with some baked beans and eggs.
