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Modeled after a popular NYC restaurant, the groundbreaking method turns typically wasted outer salad greens into an luxurious green “mayonnaise”. It’s a brilliant approach to minimize kitchen waste while making a condiment delicious and adaptable.

Why Repurpose Outer Salad Leaves?

Those outer greens are nature’s protective wrapping, guarding the tender inner lettuce. While composting produce scraps is a fundamental sustainable habit, discovering creative uses for them is additionally impactful. Turning excess food into rich soil avoids landfill buildup, where they can emit greenhouse gases, which is a potent climate issue.

It’s quite innovative when you think over it: food decomposes and transforms into the perfect soil to nourish more crops, thus closing this loop and respecting nature’s cycle of growth.

However, with more than thirty percent surplus produce getting made than needed, consuming valuable resources wisely is essential. Minimizing waste not only conserves cash but also supports the more sustainable way of living.

This Green “Mayonnaise” Recipe

This adaptable recipe functions with any type of salad greens and seeds. By incorporating one entire egg, one avoid any hassle to repurpose an leftover white. The result is a smooth, rich sauce that works perfectly with salads, grilled veggies, grilled chicken, noodles, or rice.

Yields two

For the Green Emulsion (Yields approximately 200g)

• 100g unsalted butter
• 50g external lettuce greens from 2 romaine or butter lettuce, washed and thoroughly dried
• 20g peeled salted nuts – light-colored seeds like cashews assist keep a bright color, though any seeds can work
• 1 small whole egg

To Make the Side

• 2 little gem lettuces, halved longwise
• Cold-pressed olive oil, to taste
• Lemon juice or white-wine vinegar, to taste
• One generous bunch soft herbs (like chives), sprigs picked intact, stems finely chopped

Instructions

First preparing the emulsion. Heat the butter in a medium pot, add the outer salad leaves, place a lid and wilt for approximately 60 seconds, stirring a couple times, till they have wilted. Transfer the mixture into a jug of a stick processor, add the pistachios and egg, then process until creamy. If needed, incorporate extra nuts to achieve the mayonnaise-like consistency. Keep in an sealed jar in the refrigerator for as long as 3 days.

For prepare the salad, drizzle each gem half with oil and acid, then salt generously. Dress with a tight pattern of the herb emulsion, then scatter with the herbs. Arrange on 2 dishes and enjoy right away.