Repurposing Outer Salad Leaves into Rich Mayonnaise – An Sustainable Recipe

Inspired by a popular New York restaurant, this groundbreaking technique turns often-discarded outer salad leaves into an velvety herbaceous “mayonnaise”. This is a smart approach to cut down on food waste while making something flavorful and versatile.

The Reason Use Outer Salad Greens?

These external leaves serve as nature’s natural wrapping, shielding the delicate inner leaves. Although composting produce trimmings is a fundamental sustainable practice, discovering new uses for them is even more impactful. Turning surplus food into fertile compost prevents dump accumulation, where it may emit methane, a potent environmental issue.

This is rather radical if you think over it: produce rots and becomes that perfect soil to feed more crops, thereby closing this cycle and respecting the cycle of life.

However, with over thirty percent surplus produce being made than needed, consuming precious resources efficiently is crucial. Minimizing waste not only saves cash but also promotes a more sustainable way of living.

The Herb-Infused “Mayonnaise” Method

This adaptable recipe functions with whatever variety of lettuce and nuts. Through using one whole egg, you avoid any need to use up an extra egg white. The outcome is an creamy, nutty sauce that pairs beautifully with greens, roasted veggies, grilled poultry, noodles, or grains.

Yields 2

To Make the Green “Mayonnaise” (Yields about 200g)

• 100g butter
• 50 grams outer lettuce greens of two romaine or butter lettuce, washed and thoroughly dried
• 20g peeled roasted nuts – light-colored seeds such as pine nuts help keep a vivid color, but whatever nuts can work
• 1 medium whole egg

For the Salad

• Two romaine or butter heads, halved lengthways
• Cold-pressed oil, to taste
• Lemon juice or white-wine vinegar, as desired
• 1 generous bunch fresh greens (such as chervil), sprigs picked whole, stems finely minced

Instructions

Begin by preparing the emulsion. Melt the fat in one medium saucepan, toss in the external salad greens, place a lid and wilt for about a minute, stirring once or twice, until they have wilted. Pour the contents into a jug of a stick processor, add the pistachios and whole egg, then process until smooth. If needed, add extra nuts to achieve a mayonnaise-like texture. Keep in an sealed container in the refrigerator for as long as 3 days.

To prepare the salad, sprinkle each gem portion with oil and acid, then season liberally. Dress with a zigzag drizzle of the herb mayonnaise, then scatter with the greens. Arrange on two dishes and serve right away.