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Modeled after a popular NYC restaurant, the groundbreaking method transforms typically wasted external salad leaves into a smooth green emulsion. This is a smart approach to reduce kitchen waste while making a condiment tasty and flexible.

Why Use External Lettuce Greens?

Those outer greens serve as the plant’s protective wrapping, guarding the delicate inner lettuce. While recycling vegetable trimmings is one basic sustainable habit, discovering new uses for them is additionally impactful. Turning excess ingredients into fertile compost avoids dump accumulation, where they can emit methane, which is a potent environmental issue.

This is rather innovative if you consider over it: food decomposes and transforms into that perfect growing medium to feed more crops, thus closing this loop and respecting nature’s cycle of growth.

Yet, given more than 30% extra produce being made compared to needed, consuming precious resources efficiently becomes essential. Reducing leftovers not only conserves cash but also promotes the more eco-friendly way of living.

This Green “Mayonnaise” Recipe

This versatile recipe functions with any variety of lettuce and nuts. Through incorporating one whole egg, one eliminate the need to use up an leftover egg white. This result is an smooth, rich sauce that works beautifully with salads, roasted vegetables, grilled poultry, pasta, or grains.

Yields two

To Make the Green “Mayonnaise” (Yields approximately 200 grams)

• 100 grams unsalted butter
• 50 grams outer lettuce leaves from two romaine or butter lettuce, rinsed and dried
• 20g peeled salted pistachios – white nuts like pine nuts help keep a bright green, though any nuts can do
• 1 medium whole egg

For the Salad

• Two romaine or butter lettuces, halved lengthways
• Extra-virgin olive oil, as needed
• Lemon juice or apple cider vinegar, as desired
• 1 small handful fresh greens (such as dill), sprigs picked whole, stems thinly chopped

Instructions

Begin by preparing the mayonnaise. Heat the fat in one small pot, toss in the external salad greens, cover and wilt for about a minute, mixing a couple times, till they have wilted. Transfer the mixture into a container of an immersion blender, include the nuts and egg, then process till smooth. As necessary, add extra nuts to achieve the thick texture. Keep in a sealed jar in the refrigerator for up to three days.

For prepare the salad, drizzle each lettuce half with oil and lemon juice, then salt generously. Dress with one zigzag drizzle of the green emulsion, then scatter with the herbs. Arrange on two dishes and serve right away.