🔗 Share this article

Drawing from an acclaimed New York eatery, this innovative method turns typically wasted outer salad greens into a luxurious herbaceous “mayonnaise”. It’s an brilliant approach to cut down on leftovers while producing something tasty and flexible.

Why Use Outer Salad Leaves?

Those external greens serve as nature’s natural wrapping, guarding the delicate inside leaves. While composting vegetable trimmings is one fundamental sustainable practice, finding creative applications for these parts is additionally impactful. Turning surplus food into rich soil prevents dump buildup, where it may emit greenhouse gases, which is a powerful climate issue.

It’s rather radical if you consider about it: food decomposes and transforms into the perfect soil to feed further crops, thus closing the cycle and honoring the process of growth.

Yet, with more than 30% extra food being produced compared to needed, consuming valuable ingredients efficiently is crucial. Reducing leftovers not only conserves cash but also promotes the increasingly sustainable way of living.

This Green “Mayonnaise” Method

The versatile formula functions with whatever variety of lettuce and seeds. Through incorporating one whole egg, you avoid the need to repurpose an extra egg white. The result is a creamy, rich sauce that pairs perfectly with greens, grilled veggies, grilled poultry, pasta, or rice.

Serves 2

To Make the Green Emulsion (Makes about 200g)

• 100 grams unsalted butter
• 50g external salad leaves from two romaine or butter lettuce, rinsed and dried
• 20 grams peeled salted nuts – light-colored seeds such as pine nuts help maintain the bright green, but any nuts can do
• 1 medium whole egg

For the Salad

• 2 romaine or butter heads, split longwise
• Cold-pressed olive oil, to taste
• Fresh lime juice or white-wine vinegar, as desired
• One small handful fresh greens (like chervil), leaves left whole, stems thinly minced

Instructions

First making the emulsion. Melt the fat in a medium saucepan, toss in the external lettuce leaves, place a lid and wilt for about 60 seconds, mixing once or twice, until they have wilted. Pour the mixture into the container of a stick blender, add the pistachios and egg, then process till smooth. If needed, add extra nuts to get a thick texture. Keep in a sealed container in the refrigerator for as long as 3 days.

To assemble the salad, sprinkle each gem half with oil and acid, then season liberally. Dress with one zigzag pattern of the green mayonnaise, then scatter with the greens. Place on 2 dishes and enjoy immediately.