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Drawing from a well-known New York restaurant, this innovative method converts typically wasted external salad greens into a luxurious green “mayonnaise”. It’s an ingenious approach to minimize food waste while making something delicious and versatile.

Why Repurpose External Lettuce Greens?

Those outer leaves are nature’s natural wrapping, shielding the delicate inner lettuce. Although composting vegetable scraps is one basic sustainable practice, discovering new applications for these parts is even more beneficial. Converting surplus ingredients into fertile compost avoids landfill buildup, where it can emit greenhouse gases, a powerful environmental concern.

This is rather radical if you think about it: food rots and becomes that ideal growing medium to nourish more crops, thus closing the loop and honoring nature’s process of life.

However, given over thirty percent surplus produce being made compared to needed, consuming precious resources efficiently becomes crucial. Minimizing leftovers not only saves money but also supports a increasingly sustainable way of living.

The Herb-Infused “Mayonnaise” Recipe

This versatile recipe functions with whatever type of salad greens and seeds. Through incorporating a entire egg, you avoid the need to repurpose the extra egg white. The result is a creamy, rich dressing that pairs beautifully with salads, roasted veggies, grilled poultry, pasta, or grains.

Serves two

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

• 100g butter
• 50 grams outer lettuce leaves from two little gems, washed and thoroughly dried
• 20 grams peeled roasted pistachios – light-colored seeds such as blanched almonds help maintain the bright color, though whatever seeds will work
• 1 small whole egg

For the Salad

• Two little gem lettuces, split longwise
• Extra-virgin olive oil, as needed
• Lemon juice or apple cider vinegar, to taste
• 1 generous handful soft herbs (such as chervil), sprigs picked intact, stems finely minced

Instructions

First making the mayonnaise. Melt the butter in a small pot, toss in the external lettuce leaves, place a lid and cook for about 60 seconds, mixing a couple times, till they have wilted. Transfer this mixture into the container of a stick processor, add the pistachios and whole egg, then blend till creamy. If needed, add more seeds to get a mayonnaise-like consistency. Store in a airtight container in the fridge for as long as three days.

For assemble the salad, drizzle each gem half with olive oil and lemon juice, then salt liberally. Dress with a tight pattern of the herb emulsion, then top with the herbs. Arrange on 2 dishes and serve right away.