I’m a big believer in avoiding food waste, so try to use every last bit of the goodies in my CSA box as I possibly can.

So when I am faced with a big bunch of greens, I am keen to make use of the chunky, unpromising stalks, even though many recipes instruct me to discard the stems, especially when collards are concerned.

I’ll often use them to make vegetable stock. I start with some chopped onions, gently sauteed in a mix of olive oil and butter, then add the chopped stalks along with a diced potato if I have one, saute for a few minutes and then add water and season with salt and pepper. I usually just bring it to a boil and then turn it off to avoid overcooking. The result is a clean, golden vegetable stock that is perfect for soups and risottos.

Another use for those stalks is this delicious recipe from the wonderful book “An Everlasting Meal, Cooking with Economy and Grace” by Tamar Adler. This is not a recipe book as such but more of a personal manifesto on practical cooking and eating well, even with humble ingredients. The recipes it does contain are typically simple yet delicious, and a recurring theme is avoiding waste, so it has many ideas for using the leaves, stems and bones that might otherwise end up in the trash.

This is a versatile recipe, making use of the chopped up leaves, cores and stalks of green vegetables such as collards or kale, broccoli, chard or cabbage. The vegetable pieces are simply simmered in a mix of water and olive oil seasoned with salt and garlic. Once tender you can lightly mash or puree the veg mix and you have a rich, oily, garlicky pesto that is great with pasta and also works really well as a bruschetta topping or served beside a piece of fish.

Collard Green and Kale Stalk Pesto

Adapted from “An Everlasting Meal, Cooking with Economy and Grace” by Tamar Adler

2 cups chopped collard green and kale stalks (chopped into 1/2 inch pieces)

3 cloves of garlic, coarsely chopped

0.5 cup olive oil

1 teaspoon sea salt

Put the chopped vegetables into a saucepan along with the garlic, olive oil and salt.

Add enough water to cover everything, then bring to a simmer over medium heat and leave to cook until the vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally. This can take a little while, sometimes up to 40 – 45 minutes, or even longer if you have particularly tough stalks.

You can leave it to gently bubble away just checking it regularly to give it a stir and check it isn’t burning or catching on the pan. If it is just add a little more water.

Once the vegetables are cooked put everything in a food processor and briefly whizz to produce a rough textured pesto.