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Drawing from a popular NYC eatery, this creative method transforms usually thrown-out external salad greens into an velvety green “mayonnaise”. This is an ingenious way to reduce leftovers while making something flavorful and flexible.

Why Use External Salad Leaves?

Those outer greens are nature’s natural wrapping, guarding the delicate inner lettuce. While recycling produce trimmings is a fundamental sustainable practice, finding new uses for these parts is even more beneficial. Turning excess ingredients into rich compost avoids landfill accumulation, where it may release greenhouse gases, a potent environmental issue.

It’s quite innovative if you think over it: produce rots and transforms into the perfect growing medium to feed more plants, thereby completing this cycle and respecting nature’s cycle of life.

Yet, with more than thirty percent surplus produce getting produced than needed, consuming valuable ingredients wisely is essential. Reducing leftovers not only saves money but also promotes the more sustainable lifestyle.

The Green Emulsion Recipe

This adaptable recipe functions with whatever type of salad greens and seeds. Through incorporating a whole egg, you avoid the hassle to repurpose an leftover egg white. This outcome is an smooth, rich dressing that pairs perfectly with salads, roasted vegetables, grilled chicken, noodles, or rice.

Yields two

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

• 100 grams butter
• 50g outer lettuce leaves from two little gems, rinsed and dried
• 20 grams shelled roasted pistachios – white seeds such as pine nuts assist maintain a bright green, but any seeds will work
• 1 small whole egg

To Make the Salad

• 2 romaine or butter lettuces, split longwise
• Cold-pressed olive oil, to taste
• Lemon juice or white-wine vinegar, as desired
• One small bunch soft herbs (such as chives), leaves picked intact, stems finely chopped

Steps

Begin by making the emulsion. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan, toss in the outer salad greens, place a lid and cook for about a minute, stirring a couple times, until they have softened. Transfer the mixture into a jug of a immersion processor, include the pistachios and whole egg, then blend till smooth. As necessary, incorporate more seeds to achieve a mayonnaise-like texture. Keep in a airtight jar in the fridge for as long as three days.

For prepare the salad, drizzle each lettuce half with oil and lemon juice, then season generously. Dress with one zigzag pattern of the herb emulsion, then scatter with the greens. Place on 2 dishes and enjoy right away.