Save Your Watermelon Rinds and Orange Peels!
Big on flavour but with few ingredients, this dish fully represents good food — food that tastes good and is good for us. In this dish with my earth-savvy tips and using food that would normally be thrown away like orange peels and watermelon rinds, we are doing our part to reduce food waste and support the planet. In addition, this sweet & spicy family favourite halves the meat, replacing with black beans to add in fabulous texture and flavour in what is already a new classic in our family.

Sweet & Spicy Stir Fry with Watermelon Rind & Orange Peels
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp oil
- 2 tbsp ginger
- ½ cup orange peels, rinsed, extra pith removed, julienned
- 1 cup watermelon rind, green skin peeled and the rest thinly sliced (you can also use the core of a pineapple finely chopped instead)
- 1 tbsp orange marmalade
- 1 540 gms can black beans rinsed
- 2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
- ⅓ cup water or orange juice or sweet apple cider
- 200 gms ground meat plant-based, ground works in this recipe too
Spices
- 1 tsp coriander powder
- ½ tsp cumin powder
- ⅓ tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp chopped green chiles
- Salt to taste
- 1 cup chopped greens of choice; snow pea leaves, broccoli leaves, veggie tops, etc.
- herbs of choice – for coriander leaves, chop stems and leaves separately
Instructions
- Add oil to large pan or wok and turn heat to medium.
- Add ginger and heat through.
- Add orange peels and toss for a few minutes.
- Next add the meat, watermelon rind, orange marmalade, all spices. Leave the greens for the end.
- Toss everything together with the vinegar and continue to cook on medium, tossing ever so often. The watermelon rind will release some liquid but if that doesn’t feel like enough, add a few tbsp of water or OJ.
- Let this all cook together in an open wok for 15-20 minutes.
- Towards the end add in the greens and cook for another minute. Herbs as garnish go on top at the end.
