Upcycling External Salad Leaves into Creamy Mayonnaise – A Sustainable Recipe

Inspired by a popular New York eatery, the creative method turns often-discarded external lettuce greens into a luxurious herbaceous emulsion. It’s a ingenious approach to cut down on kitchen waste while producing a condiment flavorful and flexible.

Why Repurpose Outer Salad Greens?

These external greens serve as nature’s protective wrapping, shielding the tender inner leaves. Although recycling vegetable scraps is one fundamental zero-waste practice, discovering new applications for these parts is additionally impactful. Converting surplus food into rich compost avoids landfill accumulation, where it may emit greenhouse gases, which is a powerful climate issue.

It’s rather innovative if you consider about it: produce decomposes and becomes the perfect growing medium to feed further crops, thereby closing the cycle and respecting the process of life.

Yet, with more than 30% extra food getting made than needed, using precious ingredients wisely is essential. Minimizing waste not only conserves money but also promotes the more sustainable way of living.

The Herb-Infused “Mayonnaise” Recipe

The versatile recipe functions with whatever type of lettuce and seeds. Through incorporating one whole egg, you avoid any need to repurpose an extra egg white. The result is an creamy, nutty sauce that works beautifully with salads, grilled vegetables, grilled poultry, noodles, or grains.

Yields two

To Make the Green Emulsion (Yields approximately 200g)

• 100 grams butter
• 50g outer lettuce greens of two romaine or butter lettuce, rinsed and dried
• 20 grams shelled roasted pistachios – light-colored seeds like blanched almonds help keep the bright color, though whatever nuts can do
• One medium whole egg

To Make the Side

• Two romaine or butter heads, split longwise
• Extra-virgin olive oil, to taste
• Fresh lime juice or apple cider vinegar, to taste
• One generous handful fresh herbs (like chervil), sprigs picked intact, stalks finely minced

Instructions

First making the emulsion. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan, toss in the external salad greens, cover and wilt for about 60 seconds, mixing once or twice, till they have wilted. Pour the mixture into the jug of a stick processor, add the pistachios and whole egg, then blend until smooth. As necessary, add more nuts to get the mayonnaise-like consistency. Store in an sealed jar in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

To prepare the salad, sprinkle each lettuce portion with oil and acid, then season generously. Coat with a tight drizzle of the herb emulsion, then top with the herbs. Place on 2 dishes and serve right away.