This Low-Waste Recipe from Deliciously Ella Uses Up Those Leftover Veggie Scraps

This recipe is part of our recipe series with Deliciously Ella — see more recipes here

In honor of Earth Month, we asked Ella Mills, entrepreneur, best-selling author, founder of the plant-based company Deliciously Ella, to share her favorite low-waste recipe. Instead of tossing out those leftover vegetables from dinner throughout the week, Ella loves to transform them into this simple, seasonal recipe for sauteed veggies over a creamy butter bean mash. 

“The beauty of this recipe is that almost everything is interchangeable, so you can make this any time you have leftover veggies in the fridge to use up,” Mills says. “Plus, the butter beans can be swapped for another legume depending on what you have in your cupboards at home, the almonds could be swapped for walnuts, and the cilantro for parsley… you get the idea! We also like using the whole ingredient to avoid waste.”

Deliciously Ella’s Super Veggies with Lemony Butter Bean Mash Recipe

Active time: 30 minutes
Total time: 30 minutes
Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients: 

4 tablespoons olive oil (plus extra, to serve)
4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
2 14-ounce cans butter beans (or another white bean)
1 heaping teaspoon ground cumin 
1 lemon, zested and juiced
1 handful cilantro, roughly chopped (or another herb)
2 handfuls almonds (about 3.5 ounces), roughly chopped
A pinch of crushed red pepper flakes (optional) 
Approximately 2 cups of quick-cook green vegetables, cut into even-sized pieces (“We like to use tenderstem broccoli, asparagus, and sugar snap peas,” Mills says)
Sea salt and black pepper, to taste

Instructions: 

Warm 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large frying pan set over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook for 3-5 minutes until golden (make sure that the garlic doesn’t burn, as it will taste bitter). Pour the oil and garlic into a high-speed blender. 

Add the butter beans, cumin, lemon juice (save the zest for later), one teaspoon of salt, and plenty of black pepper to the blender; blitz until smooth. 

In a small bowl, mix together the lemon zest, cilantro, almonds, chili flakes (if using), and a pinch of salt. Set aside. 

Set the frying pan back over medium-high heat (there should already be enough residual oil in the pan, but you can add more as needed). Once hot, add the vegetables and a splash of water; cook for 5 minutes until just tender. Remove the pan from the heat and stir the herby almond mixture through the vegetables. 

To serve, spoon the mashed butter beans onto a large plate or serving platter and smooth out with the back of the spoon. Pile on the veggies and dress with a little more olive oil, a pinch of sea salt, and some black pepper. Serve immediately with fresh bread or toast. 

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