Make a meal for champions with recipes on reducing food waste

An upcoming book, Second Meals, by celebrity Chef Davinder Kumar offers chefs and home cooks a collection of delicious recipes prepared using vegetable scraps.

The coffee-table book, to be released on Thursday, is published by Shubhi Publications. Making food enthusiasts learn the art of cooking from food that would otherwise have gone to waste, it encourages readers to "cook and eat every single part of vegetables and fruits".

Also read | Chefs share how to cook with peels

"The art of cooking with food scraps is a way and style that encourages cooking and eating every part of vegetables and fruits. It is the key to maximize nutrition and minimize food wastage. The recipes in the Second Meals promote mindful thinking besides being environmentally friendly and provide innovative options to use food scraps," said Chef Kumar, vice-president – F&B Production at Le Meridien, New Delhi.

The book, consisting of 150 recipes, includes distinct delicacies like "Jackfruit Seed Almond Halwa", "Parsley Stem Quinoa Tabbouleh", "Mushroom Galouti", "Celery and Spinach Salad" and "Apple Pulp Pie".

"All the recipes in this book have been written in a manner that makes it easy to follow. Each recipe has been tried out personally to ensure that it is accurate and perfect. To make preparation simple/easy, the ingredients in this book have been listed in the order in which they are to be used," read the preface of the book.

According to the publishers, besides informing people about the "nutritive values" of food scraps, the book also helps solve food scarcity faced by developing countries like ours.

"Saving natural resources will help sustain life for many more years as destroying them will create doom for mankind. This book is an effort to save the environment by using food scraps which otherwise (are) burnt and pollute the environment," said Sanjay Arya, founder, Shubhi Publications.

Chef Kumar's previously authored books include Kebab, Chutney & Bread, Just Kebabs: Celebration of 365 Kebabs & one for a Leap Year, Soups, and Four Seasonal Salads.

Also read | What is the carbon pawprint of pet food?