🔗 Share this article

Drawing from a well-known New York eatery, this innovative technique converts usually thrown-out external lettuce leaves into a smooth green “mayonnaise”. This is an ingenious way to cut down on food waste while producing something delicious and adaptable.

Why Use External Lettuce Greens?

These outer leaves serve as nature’s natural wrapping, shielding the tender inner lettuce. Although composting produce scraps is one fundamental sustainable practice, discovering new applications for these parts is even more beneficial. Converting surplus ingredients into fertile soil prevents landfill buildup, where they can release methane, a potent environmental concern.

This is rather radical when you think about it: produce rots and transforms into that perfect growing medium to nourish further crops, thus completing this cycle and respecting nature’s process of life.

However, with over 30% extra produce being produced than needed, consuming precious ingredients efficiently is crucial. Reducing leftovers not only saves money but also promotes a increasingly sustainable lifestyle.

This Green Emulsion Method

This adaptable recipe functions with whatever variety of lettuce and seeds. By using one entire egg, one eliminate the need to use up an leftover egg white. This result is a creamy, rich dressing that pairs beautifully with greens, roasted veggies, grilled poultry, pasta, or rice.

Serves two

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

• 100 grams unsalted butter
• 50 grams external salad greens of two little gems, rinsed and dried
• 20g peeled roasted nuts – light-colored seeds such as cashews assist keep the bright green, though whatever seeds can do
• 1 medium entire egg

To Make the Side

• 2 little gem lettuces, split lengthways
• Extra-virgin olive oil, as needed
• Lemon juice or white-wine vinegar, to taste
• 1 small handful soft herbs (like dill), leaves left whole, stems finely chopped

Instructions

First making the mayonnaise. Heat the butter in a medium pot, add the external lettuce leaves, cover and cook for approximately 60 seconds, stirring once or twice, until they’ve wilted. Pour the mixture into a jug of a immersion processor, include the nuts and whole egg, then process until creamy. As necessary, add more seeds to get a thick texture. Keep in an airtight jar in the fridge for as long as 3 days.

For assemble the salad, sprinkle each gem half with oil and lemon juice, then salt liberally. Dress with a tight drizzle of the herb emulsion, then scatter with the greens. Place on two dishes and enjoy immediately.