This recipe comes from Hanna Abreu, whose ancestors arrived to the Dominican Republic from Valladolid, Spain, in the late 1700s. Abreu, who now resides in Portugal, was first introduced to Mediterranean cuisine through Italian cuisine and it was love at first sight. Since then, she has done exhaustive research on the gastronomy of the Sefardi communities of the Mediterranean and Middle East to recreate these delicacies especially for the Sabbath table and Festivals. Please enjoy...and be sure to check out her other recipes here! https://kasheribbean.com/ A few days ago, I had the pleasure to cook a wonderful Rosh haShanah Dinner alongside my beautiful friend Shifrah. Together we prepared a simple yet delicious Vegan Dinner (well, almost vegan because we used honey!) and as I was prepping the ingredients for an apple crisp. I was left with a ton of apple peels so I said to myself: “how can I use this?” I figured I’d make and Apple Peel and Mint Chutney.

Maybe you are wondering ”why?” Why save trims or peels from fruits and veggies? Why even bother about making a cake with a fraction of apple crumble? Well, 30% to 40% of all the food is wasted in the United States only! (that was 133 Billions Pounds equivalent to $161 Billion dollars worth of food in 2010 and 100 Billions in Europe in 2014). Last time I checked 1/3 of the world food production goes to waste and, on average, families in the USA throw away 25% of the foods they buy. That is simply insane!

Precious food that: – Could have helped feed families in need. – Could have being used to give you more for the money you already spent by, for example, using peels and veggies scraps, or repurposing leftovers. – The resources used to put all that food to waste globally, could be use to end, or at least alleviate, world’s hunger problems. – Resources used to waste that insane amount of food could be used to help the planet not endanger it.

When all the cooking madness finished in my kitchen, I process the apple peel into tiny pieces, added sugar, spices, mint and voilá! This “chutney” made a nice addition to our breakfast oatmeal, toasts, and crackers, for a couple of weeks. If you are left with more that you can eat, store in a glass jar and give away to your family and friends. It would certainly make a nice holiday gift. Win win!

Ingredients

480 grs. Apple peel, washed and chopped in a food processor.
180 grs. Sugar (you can add white, brown, whatever you have on hand. You can also use honey, maple syrup or other liquid sweetener, just adjust the quantity to your liking)
1/4 tsp. cinnamon.
Pinch of turmeric
Pinch of salt
Pinch of black pepper
Mint leaves, chopped

Instructions

Chop the apple peel finely with the help of a food processor.
Dump all ingredients into a pan with lid and let cook on medium high for 5 minutes until it starts to release some moisture (you'll see that it releases a lot of liquid)
Turn the heat to medium low and cook for about 35 minutes or until apple peel is translucent.
Let cool to room temperature and store in the fridge in a glass air-tight container.