🔗 Share this article

Inspired by an acclaimed NYC restaurant, the creative technique converts usually thrown-out external lettuce greens into a luxurious herbaceous emulsion. It’s a smart way to reduce food waste while producing something flavorful and flexible.

Why Repurpose External Salad Greens?

These external leaves are nature’s protective packaging, shielding the tender inside leaves. Although recycling vegetable scraps is one fundamental zero-waste practice, discovering new uses for these parts is additionally impactful. Converting surplus food into fertile compost prevents dump accumulation, where they may emit methane, which is a powerful environmental concern.

It’s quite innovative if you think about it: produce rots and transforms into the ideal soil to feed further crops, thus closing the cycle and respecting nature’s process of life.

However, given over thirty percent surplus food getting produced than required, using precious resources efficiently is crucial. Minimizing waste not only conserves money but also supports the increasingly sustainable lifestyle.

This Herb-Infused “Mayonnaise” Recipe

This versatile recipe functions with any type of lettuce and seeds. By using a whole egg, you avoid any need to repurpose the leftover white. The result is a smooth, nutty dressing that pairs perfectly with salads, roasted vegetables, seared chicken, noodles, or grains.

Serves 2

To Make the Green Emulsion (Yields approximately 200 grams)

• 100g butter
• 50g external salad leaves from 2 little gems, washed and dried
• 20g peeled roasted nuts – white seeds like blanched almonds help maintain a bright color, but any seeds can do
• 1 small whole egg

To Make the Salad

• 2 little gem heads, split longwise
• Extra-virgin olive oil, as needed
• Lemon juice or apple cider vinegar, to taste
• 1 generous handful fresh greens (such as chives), sprigs left intact, stems thinly minced

Steps

First preparing the mayonnaise. Melt the butter in a small pot, add the external salad leaves, place a lid and cook for approximately a minute, stirring a couple times, until they’ve wilted. Transfer the mixture into the jug of a immersion processor, add the pistachios and whole egg, then process till smooth. If needed, incorporate more seeds to get the mayonnaise-like texture. Keep in a airtight container in the refrigerator for as long as 3 days.

For prepare the dish, sprinkle each lettuce portion with olive oil and acid, then salt generously. Coat with one tight pattern of the green emulsion, then scatter with the herbs. Place on two plates and enjoy right away.