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Inspired by a well-known NYC restaurant, this groundbreaking technique turns often-discarded outer salad leaves into a smooth green “mayonnaise”. It’s a brilliant way to minimize kitchen waste while making something tasty and versatile.

Why Repurpose External Lettuce Leaves?

These outer greens serve as the plant’s natural wrapping, shielding the delicate inside leaves. While recycling produce scraps is a basic sustainable habit, finding creative applications for these parts is even more impactful. Converting excess ingredients into fertile compost prevents landfill buildup, where it may emit greenhouse gases, which is a powerful environmental issue.

This is rather radical if you consider over it: produce decomposes and transforms into that perfect soil to nourish further plants, thus closing this cycle and honoring the cycle of growth.

However, given more than 30% extra food getting produced than required, using valuable resources efficiently becomes crucial. Reducing waste not only saves cash but also supports the more eco-friendly lifestyle.

This Green “Mayonnaise” Method

This adaptable formula functions with any type of lettuce and seeds. By incorporating one entire egg, one avoid the hassle to use up an extra white. This outcome is an creamy, nutty sauce that works beautifully with salads, grilled veggies, seared poultry, noodles, or rice.

Serves 2

For the Herb Emulsion (Makes approximately 200 grams)

• 100g unsalted butter
• 50g outer lettuce leaves from 2 little gems, rinsed and dried
• 20g shelled salted nuts – light-colored nuts such as pine nuts help maintain the bright color, but any seeds can work
• One small whole egg

For the Side

• Two little gem lettuces, halved longwise
• Cold-pressed olive oil, as needed
• Lemon juice or white-wine vinegar, as desired
• One generous handful soft herbs (like chervil), leaves left whole, stalks finely chopped

Steps

Begin by preparing the mayonnaise. Melt the fat in one medium saucepan, add the external lettuce greens, place a lid and cook for about a minute, stirring a couple times, until they’ve wilted. Pour the contents into the container of an immersion processor, include the nuts and egg, then process till creamy. If needed, incorporate extra seeds to achieve a mayonnaise-like consistency. Keep in an airtight jar in the fridge for as long as 3 days.

For assemble the dish, drizzle each gem half with olive oil and acid, then salt generously. Dress with one zigzag drizzle of the herb mayonnaise, then top with the greens. Place on two plates and enjoy right away.