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Inspired by a popular NYC restaurant, this groundbreaking technique transforms typically wasted external salad greens into an luxurious herbaceous “mayonnaise”. It’s a ingenious approach to minimize leftovers while producing something tasty and adaptable.

Why Use External Lettuce Leaves?

These external greens serve as nature’s natural packaging, guarding the delicate inside lettuce. While composting vegetable scraps is one fundamental zero-waste practice, finding creative applications for them is even more impactful. Turning excess food into rich compost avoids dump accumulation, where it may release greenhouse gases, which is a potent environmental concern.

This is quite radical when you consider about it: produce rots and becomes that ideal growing medium to nourish further crops, thereby completing the loop and honoring nature’s process of growth.

However, with over 30% surplus produce getting produced compared to required, using precious ingredients wisely is essential. Reducing waste not only saves cash but also promotes a increasingly sustainable way of living.

This Herb-Infused Emulsion Method

This adaptable recipe functions with whatever type of salad greens and seeds. By using one whole egg, you avoid any hassle to repurpose the leftover white. This result is a creamy, rich dressing that works perfectly with salads, grilled vegetables, grilled poultry, noodles, or grains.

Yields two

For the Herb “Mayonnaise” (Makes approximately 200g)

• 100g butter
• 50g outer lettuce greens of 2 romaine or butter lettuce, rinsed and dried
• 20 grams peeled salted nuts – light-colored nuts like pine nuts help keep the bright green, though whatever nuts will work
• 1 medium entire egg

To Make the Side

• 2 little gem lettuces, split lengthways
• Extra-virgin olive oil, to taste
• Lemon juice or white-wine vinegar, as desired
• One small bunch fresh greens (like dill), sprigs picked intact, stems finely minced

Instructions

First preparing the emulsion. Heat the butter in one medium pot, toss in the external salad greens, place a lid and cook for about a minute, stirring a couple times, till they have wilted. Pour this contents into a container of an stick blender, add the nuts and egg, then process till smooth. As necessary, incorporate extra seeds to get the mayonnaise-like texture. Store in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

To prepare the salad, drizzle each gem half with olive oil and acid, then season generously. Coat with a zigzag drizzle of the herb mayonnaise, then scatter with the greens. Arrange on 2 dishes and serve immediately.