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Inspired by a well-known NYC restaurant, this groundbreaking technique turns usually thrown-out outer lettuce greens into an velvety herbaceous “mayonnaise”. This is an brilliant way to reduce leftovers while making something tasty and adaptable.

Why Repurpose Outer Salad Greens?

Those external greens serve as nature’s natural wrapping, guarding the tender inside lettuce. Although recycling vegetable scraps is a basic sustainable habit, discovering new applications for these parts is even more impactful. Converting surplus ingredients into rich compost avoids dump buildup, where it can emit greenhouse gases, a powerful climate issue.

This is rather innovative when you think over it: produce decomposes and becomes that perfect growing medium to nourish more plants, thereby closing the loop and honoring nature’s process of growth.

However, given more than 30% surplus food getting produced than needed, consuming precious resources wisely is crucial. Reducing leftovers not only saves money but also promotes a more sustainable lifestyle.

This Green “Mayonnaise” Recipe

This versatile recipe works with any variety of lettuce and seeds. By using one whole egg, you avoid any hassle to use up the extra white. This result is an creamy, rich sauce that pairs perfectly with greens, roasted vegetables, grilled poultry, pasta, or grains.

Serves two

For the Green Emulsion (Yields approximately 200g)

• 100 grams unsalted butter
• 50g outer salad leaves from 2 little gems, washed and thoroughly dried
• 20 grams peeled roasted pistachios – white nuts like blanched almonds help keep a vivid green, but any nuts can do
• One small entire egg

For the Salad

• 2 romaine or butter lettuces, halved longwise
• Extra-virgin olive oil, to taste
• Lemon juice or white-wine vinegar, to taste
• One small bunch soft greens (like chervil), sprigs picked intact, stems thinly chopped

Steps

First making the emulsion. Melt the fat in a medium pot, toss in the outer salad leaves, place a lid and cook for about 60 seconds, stirring a couple times, till they’ve softened. Transfer the mixture into a container of an stick blender, add the pistachios and egg, then process until smooth. If needed, add extra nuts to achieve the mayonnaise-like consistency. Store in a airtight jar in the fridge for as long as 3 days.

For assemble the dish, drizzle each lettuce portion with olive oil and lemon juice, then salt liberally. Dress with one zigzag drizzle of the herb mayonnaise, then scatter with the greens. Arrange on 2 plates and serve immediately.