By Douglas McMaster
Vegetable Waste ‘Nduja’ with Leek-Top Oil
Waste less, host better with Douglas McMaster, as part of The Art of Hosting series at IFA 2026. Discover how easy it is to transform vegetable scraps into a delicious veggie nduja, creating a flavour-packed, zero-waste topping for homemade pizzas.
Explore the recipe below.
A Word from Doug
For me, zero waste is not a limitation; it’s a creative brief. This recipe takes the
skins, stalks and trimmings that might ordinarily be discarded and concentrates
them into something smoky, spicy and deeply savoury.
The aim isn’t to imitate meat, but to recreate what ’nduja brings to a pizza:
richness, heat, umami and little pockets of texture. Oyster mushrooms provide
the meaty strands, while roasted vegetable waste creates the body and smoked
tomato brings depth. The leek-top oil then lifts everything with freshness and
colour.
— Douglas McMaster
Ingredients
Mixed vegetable waste — 350g raw weight
- 175g red pepper trimmings
- 50g tomato trimmings
- 40g red onion trimmings
- 35g carrot skins
- 40g cauliflower trimmings
- 10g fennel tops
Remaining ingredients
- 500g raw oyster mushrooms, torn into strands
- 90g baking potato
- 60g smoked tomato paste
- 35g white or blonde miso
- 30g fermented chilli paste
- 18g confit garlic
- 8g gochugaru chilli flakes
- 5g rice or cider vinegar
- 40g cold-pressed rapeseed or olive oil.
Cooked-weight guide: From the roasted ingredients, use 125g mixed
vegetable waste, 120g oyster mushrooms and 60g baked potato. Keep any
surplus for another dish.
Leek Top-Oil
Finished yield: Approximately 125–150ml
Ingredients
- 75g green leek tops
- 150ml cold-pressed rapeseed oil
Method
Vegetable Nduja Recipe
- Spread the mixed vegetable waste across one or two shallow roasting
trays. Keep the wetter pepper and tomato trimmings relatively
separate so everything roasts rather than steams. - Roast at 160–180°C fan until deeply coloured, concentrated and
substantially dry. Turn occasionally and briefly open the oven to
release excess steam. - Roast the oyster mushroom strands at 160–180°C fan until dark,
chewy and almost dry. - Bake the potato whole until completely tender and fluffy.
- Weigh 125g roasted vegetable waste, then blend it with the smoked
tomato paste, miso, fermented chilli paste, confit garlic, gochugaru
and vinegar. - Transfer the mixture to a wide pan and cook gently, stirring regularly,
until it forms a concentrated paste. A spoon drawn through it should
leave a channel that does not immediately fill with liquid. - Briefly pulse 40g of the roasted mushrooms into the vegetable paste,
retaining some texture. - Rice or mash 60g baked potato, including its skin. Fold it into the
paste without blending. - Roughly chop and fold in the remaining 80g oyster mushroom strands
by hand. - Leave the mixture to rest for 10 minutes, then assess its consistency.
- Gradually add the rapeseed oil until the mixture is glossy and rich but
remains firm enough to hold its shape. Use no more than 39g, keeping
the finished yield at or below 500g. - Cover and refrigerate overnight before using.
Serve in small spoonfuls across a tomato-based pizza with burrata or
stracciatella, brassica leaves, herb-stem honey and leek-top oil.
Method Continued
Leek Top-Oil Recipe, for dressing
- Separate the leek tops and wash them thoroughly.
- Blanch briefly in boiling water, then immediately chill in iced water.
- Squeeze out as much water as possible and dry thoroughly.
- Blend with the rapeseed oil until completely broken down and vividly
green. - Pass through a fine sieve or muslin and chill immediately.
- Transfer to a clean bottle, label and refrigerate.
Meet Douglas McMaster
Douglas McMaster is the founder of the world’s first zero waste restaurant Silo, in Hackney Wick. Following time spent in some of the world’s most influential kitchens, including St. JOHN, The Fat Duck and Noma, at the age of 21 Douglas entered and won a BBC competition, becoming the country’s ‘Best Young Chef.’ In 2010, he was offered the opportunity to experiment with a zero-waste café in Melbourne under the mentorship of Joost Bakker.
From there, Douglas built the foundations of what is now a philosophy that underpins his 'Silo System', whereby waste can be intelligently designed out of food systems. Today, his work explores how fermentation, microbial ecosystems and circular design can regenerate food systems, expanding the conversation from waste reduction towards ecological abundance. In 2014, Douglas opened Silo in Brighton, pioneering a closed-loop system of food production. He relocated to East London in October 2019, where the restaurant earned a Michelin Green Star for its commitment to sustainability. Its final service was in December 2025, closing one chapter and opening the 'Silo System' to global opportunity. His recent collaborations have been in restaurants and with chefs from Mexico City, St. Moritz, Kiev, Lisbon, and beyond. At the end of 2025, Douglas was named to the TIME100 Climate list as one of the influential leaders driving business climate action.
