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Drawing from a popular NYC restaurant, the creative technique converts typically wasted outer salad leaves into an smooth green “mayonnaise”. This is a smart approach to minimize leftovers while making a condiment delicious and flexible.

The Reason Repurpose Outer Salad Leaves?

Those external greens serve as the plant’s protective wrapping, shielding the delicate inner leaves. While composting vegetable trimmings is one fundamental sustainable practice, finding new uses for these parts is even more impactful. Turning excess ingredients into fertile compost avoids dump buildup, where it can release greenhouse gases, which is a powerful environmental concern.

It’s quite innovative if you consider about it: food rots and transforms into the perfect growing medium to feed further crops, thus closing this loop and respecting the cycle of life.

Yet, given over 30% surplus produce getting produced than required, consuming valuable resources wisely becomes crucial. Reducing leftovers not only saves money but also supports the more sustainable way of living.

This Green “Mayonnaise” Recipe

This versatile formula works with any type of lettuce and seeds. Through incorporating a entire egg, you eliminate the need to repurpose the extra egg white. The outcome is an smooth, nutty sauce that works beautifully with salads, roasted vegetables, seared chicken, noodles, or rice.

Yields two

To Make the Green “Mayonnaise” (Makes approximately 200g)

• 100g unsalted butter
• 50 grams outer lettuce leaves of two romaine or butter lettuce, washed and dried
• 20g shelled salted nuts – white nuts like blanched almonds assist keep the bright green, but whatever seeds will do
• 1 small entire egg

To Make the Side

• 2 little gem lettuces, split longwise
• Cold-pressed olive oil, as needed
• Fresh lime juice or white-wine vinegar, to taste
• 1 small handful fresh greens (like chervil), sprigs left whole, stalks finely minced

Steps

First making the mayonnaise. Heat the butter in one medium saucepan, add the external salad leaves, cover and wilt for about a minute, stirring once or twice, till they’ve wilted. Pour the contents into the container of a immersion blender, add the pistachios and whole egg, then process till creamy. As necessary, incorporate extra nuts to achieve the thick texture. Store in an sealed container in the fridge for up to 3 days.

To assemble the dish, sprinkle each gem half with olive oil and acid, then season generously. Dress with a tight pattern of the herb mayonnaise, then scatter with the herbs. Place on two plates and enjoy right away.