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Drawing from a well-known NYC eatery, the groundbreaking method transforms typically wasted outer lettuce greens into a luxurious green “mayonnaise”. This is a ingenious way to reduce leftovers while creating a condiment flavorful and adaptable.

The Reason Repurpose External Salad Greens?

These outer leaves are the plant’s protective packaging, guarding the delicate inside leaves. While recycling vegetable trimmings is a fundamental sustainable habit, discovering new applications for them is additionally impactful. Converting surplus ingredients into fertile soil prevents landfill buildup, where they can emit greenhouse gases, which is a powerful environmental concern.

This is rather innovative if you consider over it: produce rots and becomes that ideal growing medium to feed more crops, thus closing the loop and honoring the process of growth.

However, with over thirty percent extra produce being produced than required, consuming valuable ingredients wisely is crucial. Minimizing waste not only saves money but also supports a more eco-friendly lifestyle.

This Green “Mayonnaise” Recipe

This versatile formula works with whatever variety of salad greens and seeds. Through using a whole egg, one eliminate the need to repurpose the leftover egg white. This outcome is an creamy, rich sauce that pairs beautifully with salads, grilled vegetables, seared poultry, noodles, or rice.

Serves two

For the Green “Mayonnaise” (Makes about 200 grams)

• 100g butter
• 50 grams outer salad leaves of two little gems, rinsed and dried
• 20g shelled roasted nuts – white nuts such as cashews assist keep a vivid green, but any seeds will work
• 1 small entire egg

To Make the Salad

• 2 little gem lettuces, split longwise
• Cold-pressed oil, as needed
• Fresh lime juice or white-wine vinegar, as desired
• One small handful fresh greens (like dill), leaves left intact, stalks thinly chopped

Steps

First preparing the mayonnaise. Melt the butter in one medium saucepan, toss in the outer salad leaves, place a lid and cook for about 60 seconds, mixing a couple times, till they’ve softened. Pour the mixture into a container of a immersion processor, include the nuts and egg, then blend until smooth. As necessary, add more nuts to get the mayonnaise-like consistency. Keep in an sealed container in the fridge for up to three days.

For assemble the dish, drizzle each lettuce portion with oil and acid, then salt liberally. Coat with a zigzag pattern of the herb emulsion, then scatter with the greens. Place on 2 plates and enjoy right away.