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Modeled after a popular New York restaurant, this creative technique converts often-discarded outer salad greens into an velvety green “mayonnaise”. This is a smart approach to minimize food waste while creating something tasty and adaptable.

Why Use Outer Salad Greens?

These outer greens are the plant’s natural packaging, shielding the tender inner leaves. Although composting vegetable trimmings is one fundamental sustainable practice, finding new applications for them is additionally beneficial. Converting excess ingredients into fertile compost avoids dump accumulation, where it can emit greenhouse gases, a powerful environmental concern.

This is rather innovative if you think about it: produce decomposes and transforms into that ideal soil to nourish more crops, thereby completing the loop and honoring the cycle of life.

Yet, given more than 30% surplus produce getting produced than required, using precious resources wisely is crucial. Reducing waste not only saves money but also promotes the increasingly sustainable lifestyle.

The Herb-Infused “Mayonnaise” Recipe

The adaptable formula functions with whatever type of lettuce and seeds. Through incorporating a entire egg, you avoid the need to repurpose an extra white. This outcome is an smooth, rich dressing that pairs perfectly with salads, roasted veggies, grilled poultry, noodles, or rice.

Serves two

To Make the Herb Emulsion (Makes approximately 200g)

• 100 grams butter
• 50g outer lettuce greens of 2 little gems, washed and dried
• 20g peeled salted nuts – light-colored nuts such as blanched almonds assist maintain a vivid green, but any nuts can do
• One small whole egg

For the Salad

• Two romaine or butter heads, split lengthways
• Extra-virgin olive oil, as needed
• Fresh lime juice or white-wine vinegar, to taste
• One small handful fresh greens (such as dill), sprigs left intact, stems thinly chopped

Instructions

First preparing the emulsion. Melt the fat in a medium saucepan, add the external salad leaves, place a lid and cook for about a minute, mixing a couple times, till they have softened. Transfer the contents into the jug of an stick processor, include the nuts and whole egg, then blend until creamy. If needed, incorporate extra nuts to achieve a mayonnaise-like consistency. Store in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 3 days.

To prepare the dish, sprinkle each gem half with oil and acid, then season generously. Dress with a zigzag drizzle of the herb mayonnaise, then top with the greens. Arrange on 2 plates and serve right away.