🔗 Share this article

Modeled after a popular NYC restaurant, the groundbreaking technique transforms often-discarded outer salad greens into an luxurious green emulsion. It’s an brilliant approach to cut down on leftovers while producing a condiment tasty and adaptable.

Why Use Outer Lettuce Greens?

Those external leaves are the plant’s natural packaging, shielding the tender inside leaves. While composting produce scraps is one fundamental zero-waste habit, finding new uses for them is additionally impactful. Turning surplus food into rich soil avoids landfill buildup, where it may release greenhouse gases, which is a potent environmental concern.

It’s quite radical if you consider about it: produce decomposes and becomes the perfect soil to nourish further crops, thus completing this loop and honoring the process of life.

However, given over 30% extra food being made compared to needed, using precious resources efficiently becomes crucial. Minimizing leftovers not only saves cash but also promotes the increasingly sustainable way of living.

The Herb-Infused “Mayonnaise” Recipe

The versatile formula works with whatever type of lettuce and seeds. By incorporating one entire egg, one avoid the need to repurpose an extra egg white. The outcome is an creamy, nutty sauce that works perfectly with salads, grilled veggies, grilled chicken, noodles, or rice.

Serves two

To Make the Herb “Mayonnaise” (Yields about 200g)

• 100 grams butter
• 50 grams external salad greens from 2 romaine or butter lettuce, rinsed and dried
• 20g shelled salted nuts – light-colored nuts like blanched almonds help maintain the vivid green, though any nuts will work
• One small whole egg

For the Side

• Two little gem heads, split longwise
• Extra-virgin olive oil, to taste
• Lemon juice or white-wine vinegar, to taste
• One generous handful soft herbs (like dill), leaves left intact, stems finely minced

Steps

First preparing the emulsion. Melt the fat in one medium saucepan, toss in the external salad greens, cover and wilt for about a minute, mixing a couple times, till they have softened. Pour this mixture into the jug of an stick processor, add the pistachios and whole egg, then process till creamy. As necessary, add extra seeds to achieve a mayonnaise-like texture. Store in a airtight jar in the fridge for up to 3 days.

For prepare the salad, drizzle each lettuce portion with oil and acid, then salt liberally. Coat with a tight drizzle of the herb mayonnaise, then scatter with the herbs. Arrange on 2 plates and enjoy right away.