Repurposing Outer Lettuce Greens into Creamy Mayonnaise – A Sustainable Recipe

Inspired by a well-known NYC restaurant, the groundbreaking method converts typically wasted outer salad greens into a smooth green emulsion. This is an ingenious approach to minimize kitchen waste while producing something tasty and versatile.

Why Use External Salad Leaves?

Those external leaves are nature’s natural packaging, shielding the tender inside leaves. While recycling vegetable scraps is a basic sustainable practice, discovering new applications for them is even more beneficial. Turning surplus ingredients into rich soil avoids landfill buildup, where they can release methane, which is a powerful climate issue.

It’s rather innovative if you consider over it: produce decomposes and transforms into that perfect growing medium to nourish more plants, thus completing the loop and honoring nature’s cycle of life.

Yet, with more than 30% surplus produce getting produced compared to needed, consuming precious ingredients efficiently becomes essential. Minimizing waste not only saves cash but also supports a more eco-friendly way of living.

This Green “Mayonnaise” Method

The adaptable formula functions with whatever type of lettuce and seeds. Through using one entire egg, one avoid the hassle to use up the extra egg white. The outcome is an creamy, nutty dressing that works beautifully with salads, grilled veggies, grilled chicken, noodles, or rice.

Yields two

For the Green Emulsion (Makes about 200g)

• 100 grams butter
• 50 grams outer salad leaves from two romaine or butter lettuce, washed and thoroughly dried
• 20g shelled roasted pistachios – light-colored seeds like blanched almonds assist maintain the bright green, but whatever nuts can do
• 1 small entire egg

To Make the Salad

• 2 little gem heads, split longwise
• Cold-pressed olive oil, to taste
• Lemon juice or white-wine vinegar, to taste
• 1 small handful fresh herbs (such as dill), leaves left whole, stems finely minced

Instructions

Begin by making the mayonnaise. Melt the fat in one medium saucepan, toss in the outer salad greens, place a lid and wilt for approximately 60 seconds, stirring a couple times, until they have wilted. Transfer this mixture into a jug of a stick blender, add the nuts and whole egg, then blend till creamy. As necessary, incorporate extra nuts to get a thick texture. Keep in a sealed container in the refrigerator for as long as three days.

To prepare the salad, drizzle each lettuce half with olive oil and acid, then salt generously. Dress with a zigzag pattern of the green mayonnaise, then scatter with the greens. Place on 2 plates and enjoy immediately.