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Modeled after a popular New York restaurant, the groundbreaking method converts usually thrown-out external salad greens into an velvety green “mayonnaise”. It’s an brilliant approach to reduce leftovers while creating a condiment delicious and flexible.

Why Repurpose Outer Salad Leaves?

These external greens serve as the plant’s natural wrapping, shielding the tender inside leaves. Although recycling vegetable trimmings is a basic sustainable practice, discovering creative applications for them is additionally beneficial. Converting surplus food into rich compost avoids dump accumulation, where they can emit greenhouse gases, a powerful climate concern.

It’s quite innovative when you consider about it: produce rots and transforms into the ideal soil to nourish more plants, thereby completing this cycle and respecting the cycle of life.

However, given more than thirty percent extra food getting produced compared to needed, consuming precious ingredients efficiently becomes essential. Minimizing waste not only saves cash but also supports a more sustainable way of living.

This Green Emulsion Recipe

The adaptable formula works with whatever variety of lettuce and nuts. Through incorporating one whole egg, you eliminate the hassle to use up the leftover egg white. This result is an smooth, rich dressing that pairs perfectly with greens, grilled vegetables, grilled chicken, noodles, or grains.

Serves 2

For the Green Emulsion (Yields approximately 200g)

• 100g butter
• 50g outer salad leaves of two romaine or butter lettuce, washed and thoroughly dried
• 20g shelled salted nuts – white nuts such as pine nuts assist maintain a vivid color, but any nuts can work
• 1 small entire egg

To Make the Salad

• 2 romaine or butter heads, halved longwise
• Extra-virgin oil, as needed
• Fresh lime juice or white-wine vinegar, as desired
• 1 generous handful fresh greens (such as chervil), sprigs left intact, stems thinly chopped

Steps

First making the mayonnaise. Melt the fat in a small pot, toss in the outer salad greens, place a lid and cook for about 60 seconds, mixing once or twice, until they have wilted. Transfer this contents into a jug of an stick blender, add the nuts and whole egg, then blend until smooth. If needed, add extra seeds to get the mayonnaise-like consistency. Keep in a sealed jar in the refrigerator for up to three days.

To prepare the salad, sprinkle each lettuce portion with oil and acid, then season generously. Coat with one tight pattern of the herb mayonnaise, then scatter with the herbs. Arrange on 2 plates and enjoy right away.