When it comes to preserving your favorite seasonal produce, the fermentation craze sweeping the culinary Insta-verse may lead you to believe that a funky, effervescent pickle is your only option. But counterintuitively enough, drying out a vegetable can extend its life just as well—if not better—than turning it into a bracing acid bomb. Chefs Boot Camp alum and JBF Award winner Marco Canora applies this eco-friendly technique to juicy heirloom tomatoes in his recipe for savory granola.
Canora starts by roasting cherry or grape tomatoes in a low oven until they’re thoroughly shriveled and rich with umami. Then, while oats and almond flour are toasting, he combines a basil and garlic–infused oil with barley malt syrup, brown sugar, lemon zest, and some seasoning. Finally, he coats the oats in the oil and syrup mixture and returns them to the oven until they’ve lost their stickiness and filled the kitchen with rich aromas. Combined with the savory “tomato raisins,” this granola is the perfect topping for anything from a bowl of yogurt to a rustic roasted vegetable dish. Get the recipe.
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The James Beard Foundation's new cookbook, Waste Not: How to Get the Most from Your Food, offers up a host of delicious solutions to the pressing problem of food waste. Featuring 100 recipes from alumni of our Chefs Boot Camp for Policy and Change, Waste Not will teach you how to turn every root, bone, rind, and stem into an irresistible dish.
Waste Not: How to Get the Most from Your Food, published by Rizzoli, is on sale now. Order your copy today!
Frank Guerriero is the media assistant at the Beard Foundation. Find him on Instagram.
