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Modeled after an acclaimed NYC restaurant, this innovative technique turns usually thrown-out outer salad leaves into a velvety green “mayonnaise”. It’s an smart approach to reduce food waste while producing something flavorful and versatile.

Why Use External Lettuce Leaves?

These external greens serve as nature’s natural packaging, shielding the delicate inner leaves. Although composting produce trimmings is a fundamental zero-waste practice, finding new uses for them is additionally beneficial. Converting excess food into rich compost prevents landfill buildup, where they can emit greenhouse gases, a powerful environmental concern.

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

However, with over thirty percent extra produce being made compared to needed, consuming valuable resources efficiently becomes essential. Minimizing waste not only saves cash but also promotes a more sustainable way of living.

The Green Emulsion Recipe

This versatile formula works with any type of lettuce and seeds. By incorporating a entire egg, one avoid the need to repurpose the extra egg white. The result is an smooth, nutty sauce that works perfectly with greens, grilled veggies, seared poultry, pasta, or grains.

Serves 2

To Make the Green Emulsion (Yields about 200g)

• 100g butter
• 50g external salad greens from 2 little gems, rinsed and dried
• 20 grams peeled salted pistachios – white seeds such as blanched almonds help keep the bright green, but any seeds can work
• 1 small entire egg

For the Salad

• 2 romaine or butter heads, split longwise
• Cold-pressed olive oil, as needed
• Fresh lime juice or white-wine vinegar, to taste
• 1 small bunch fresh herbs (like dill), sprigs left whole, stalks finely minced

Steps

First making the mayonnaise. Heat the butter in a small saucepan, add the external salad greens, place a lid and cook for approximately a minute, mixing once or twice, until they have wilted. Pour this mixture into the jug of a stick blender, include the nuts and whole egg, then process till creamy. If needed, add extra seeds to achieve the thick consistency. Store in a airtight container in the fridge for as long as three days.

To prepare the dish, sprinkle each gem portion with oil and lemon juice, then season generously. Coat with one tight pattern of the herb mayonnaise, then top with the herbs. Place on two dishes and serve immediately.