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Modeled after a well-known New York eatery, the innovative technique turns often-discarded external salad leaves into a velvety herbaceous emulsion. It’s a smart approach to reduce leftovers while creating a condiment flavorful and versatile.

The Reason Use Outer Salad Greens?

These outer leaves serve as nature’s protective wrapping, guarding the delicate inner leaves. While recycling produce trimmings is a fundamental sustainable habit, finding new applications for these parts is additionally impactful. Turning surplus food into fertile compost avoids landfill buildup, where they can release methane, which is a powerful climate concern.

It’s quite innovative when you think over it: produce rots and transforms into the ideal soil to nourish further plants, thereby closing the loop and honoring the cycle of growth.

However, with more than 30% surplus produce getting produced than required, consuming precious ingredients efficiently becomes essential. Minimizing leftovers not only saves money but also promotes a increasingly sustainable way of living.

The Herb-Infused “Mayonnaise” Recipe

The adaptable recipe works with any type of salad greens and nuts. Through using one entire egg, you avoid the need to use up the leftover egg white. This outcome is an creamy, rich sauce that works beautifully with greens, grilled veggies, seared poultry, noodles, or grains.

Serves two

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

• 100g butter
• 50 grams external lettuce leaves of 2 little gems, rinsed and dried
• 20g peeled roasted nuts – light-colored nuts like cashews assist maintain the vivid green, though any nuts will do
• 1 medium entire egg

To Make the Side

• Two little gem lettuces, split lengthways
• Cold-pressed olive oil, as needed
• Fresh lime juice or white-wine vinegar, to taste
• 1 small bunch fresh herbs (such as chervil), sprigs left whole, stems thinly chopped

Instructions

Begin by preparing the mayonnaise. Melt the butter in one medium pot, add the outer lettuce greens, cover and cook for about a minute, mixing once or twice, till they’ve wilted. Transfer this mixture into the jug of a stick processor, include the nuts and egg, then process till creamy. If needed, add more nuts to get a mayonnaise-like texture. Keep in a airtight jar in the fridge for as long as three days.

For assemble the dish, drizzle each lettuce half with olive oil and lemon juice, then salt generously. Dress with a zigzag drizzle of the herb mayonnaise, then scatter with the herbs. Arrange on two plates and enjoy right away.