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Modeled after a popular NYC restaurant, this groundbreaking technique turns usually thrown-out external salad leaves into an luxurious herbaceous “mayonnaise”. This is a smart approach to cut down on kitchen waste while making a condiment tasty and adaptable.

The Reason Use External Salad Greens?

Those outer leaves are nature’s protective packaging, shielding the tender inside leaves. While recycling produce scraps is one basic zero-waste practice, finding creative uses for them is even more beneficial. Turning surplus ingredients into fertile soil avoids landfill buildup, where it can release greenhouse gases, a powerful climate concern.

This is quite radical if you think about it: produce rots and transforms into that ideal growing medium to nourish further plants, thereby completing the loop and respecting nature’s process of life.

Yet, with over thirty percent surplus produce being made compared to required, using valuable ingredients efficiently is crucial. Minimizing leftovers not only conserves cash but also promotes the more eco-friendly way of living.

This Herb-Infused Emulsion Recipe

The adaptable recipe works with any variety of lettuce and seeds. By using a whole egg, one eliminate the hassle to repurpose the leftover white. This outcome is a creamy, rich dressing that pairs beautifully with salads, grilled veggies, grilled poultry, pasta, or rice.

Serves two

To Make the Herb “Mayonnaise” (Makes about 200g)

• 100g butter
• 50g outer salad greens from 2 romaine or butter lettuce, rinsed and dried
• 20 grams shelled salted nuts – light-colored seeds such as pine nuts help keep a bright color, though any nuts will do
• 1 small entire egg

For the Side

• Two romaine or butter lettuces, split lengthways
• Extra-virgin oil, to taste
• Lemon juice or white-wine vinegar, as desired
• 1 small bunch soft greens (like chervil), sprigs left intact, stems finely minced

Steps

Begin by making the mayonnaise. Heat the fat in a small pot, toss in the outer lettuce greens, cover and cook for approximately a minute, stirring once or twice, until they have wilted. Pour this mixture into a container of an immersion blender, include the nuts and whole egg, then blend until smooth. As necessary, add extra seeds to get a mayonnaise-like texture. Keep in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 3 days.

To assemble the dish, drizzle each gem half with olive oil and acid, then salt liberally. Dress with one tight pattern of the green emulsion, then scatter with the greens. Place on two dishes and enjoy right away.