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Inspired by a popular NYC restaurant, the groundbreaking technique transforms usually thrown-out external lettuce leaves into an smooth green “mayonnaise”. It’s a smart approach to reduce leftovers while creating a condiment tasty and adaptable.

The Reason Repurpose Outer Lettuce Greens?

These external leaves serve as the plant’s natural packaging, guarding the tender inside lettuce. Although composting vegetable trimmings is one fundamental sustainable practice, finding new uses for these parts is additionally impactful. Converting surplus ingredients into fertile soil avoids landfill accumulation, where it may emit methane, a potent climate issue.

It’s rather radical when you think over it: produce rots and becomes that perfect soil to nourish more crops, thus closing this loop and honoring nature’s cycle of life.

However, with more than thirty percent surplus food getting made compared to required, consuming valuable ingredients efficiently becomes essential. Minimizing leftovers not only saves money but also promotes a increasingly sustainable way of living.

This Herb-Infused “Mayonnaise” Method

This adaptable recipe functions with whatever variety of lettuce and nuts. Through using one entire egg, you avoid any hassle to use up an leftover egg white. This outcome is a creamy, rich dressing that works beautifully with salads, roasted veggies, grilled chicken, noodles, or rice.

Serves two

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

• 100 grams unsalted butter
• 50 grams external salad greens of 2 little gems, rinsed and dried
• 20 grams shelled salted pistachios – white nuts such as pine nuts assist keep a vivid green, though any nuts can work
• One small whole egg

For the Salad

• 2 romaine or butter heads, split lengthways
• Cold-pressed olive oil, to taste
• Lemon juice or white-wine vinegar, to taste
• One generous bunch fresh greens (such as dill), leaves picked intact, stalks thinly minced

Steps

First making the emulsion. Heat the butter in a medium saucepan, add the external lettuce greens, cover and cook for about a minute, stirring a couple times, until they’ve wilted. Pour this contents into a container of a stick processor, include the nuts and egg, then blend until creamy. If needed, add more seeds to get a mayonnaise-like texture. Store in a sealed jar in the fridge for as long as three days.

For assemble the dish, drizzle each gem half with oil and acid, then salt generously. Coat with one zigzag pattern of the green emulsion, then scatter with the greens. Place on two plates and serve immediately.