Mozzarella comes in a bag or pot surrounded by whey or brine. This is known as latticello in Italy, and has all the flavour of the cheese and more – it’s lactic, sour and subtly sweet, with a powerful, salty, umami-rich depth of flavour. It’s delicious as a drink in it’s own right, but it’s also great to cook with. It can be used instead of buttermilk or yoghurt in marinades, even though it has less viscosity than both, and in baking. I’ve included the mozzarella itself in today’s recipe, but it is entirely optional and could easily be saved for another recipe.

Mozzarella whey muffins

Mozzarella whey is my latest Waste Not discovery. While researching my buffalo mozzarella taste test for the Filter earlier this month, I tasted the whey of each cheese to gauge its quality, and found all of them pretty delicious. By the end, I had the whey from 10 pots to use up, so tried out a few recipes, including drinks, marinades and muffins. Mozzarella whey is naturally acidic, much like yoghurt or buttermilk, so it stands to reason that it would make an excellent muffin by activating the baking powder and helping the muffins to rise, while also adding flavour. Explore your own combinations of optional extras: I adapted this recipe from one of my early Guardian recipes for celeriac and blue cheese muffins, which is another lovely combination.

Makes 6

150g spelt flour, or wholemeal flour
1½ tsp baking powder
1 egg, lightly beaten
125ml mozzarella whey
100g optional extras – olives, sun-dried tomatoes, roast red peppers, or whatever you fancy or have to hand
125g ball mozzarella, torn (optional)
3 sprigs fresh herbs (rosemary, thyme, oregano), leaves picked (optional)

Heat the oven to 200C (180C fan)/390F/gas 6, and grease and line a six-hole muffin tin. In a large bowl (or plastic tub for which you have a lid), combine the flour, baking powder, beaten egg and mozzarella whey. Add your chosen optional extras and herbs, if using; if you like, tear in some mozzarella, too, then beat to combine (if using a tub, simply pop on the lid and shake vigorously).

Divide the batter between the lined muffin tray holes, top each one with more olives and mozzarella, if using, then bake for 15-18 minutes, until golden on top. Remove from the tray, transfer to a rack and enjoy warm, or leave to cool and store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three days.