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Inspired by a well-known NYC eatery, the creative method turns often-discarded outer lettuce leaves into a velvety herbaceous “mayonnaise”. It’s a smart way to cut down on kitchen waste while producing a condiment tasty and versatile.

The Reason Repurpose External Salad Leaves?

Those outer leaves serve as the plant’s natural wrapping, guarding the delicate inside lettuce. While recycling produce trimmings is one fundamental sustainable practice, finding creative uses for them is even more impactful. Converting excess food into rich soil avoids dump buildup, where it can emit greenhouse gases, which is a potent environmental concern.

It’s rather radical if you think about it: produce decomposes and transforms into that ideal growing medium to nourish more crops, thus closing this cycle and honoring nature’s process of life.

However, given over thirty percent extra food getting made compared to needed, using valuable ingredients wisely becomes essential. Minimizing leftovers not only saves money but also supports a increasingly eco-friendly lifestyle.

This Herb-Infused Emulsion Method

The versatile recipe functions with any type of lettuce and seeds. Through incorporating a entire egg, one avoid any hassle to use up the extra egg white. This outcome is a creamy, rich dressing that pairs beautifully with salads, grilled veggies, seared poultry, pasta, or rice.

Serves 2

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

• 100 grams butter
• 50g external lettuce leaves from two little gems, washed and thoroughly dried
• 20 grams peeled roasted pistachios – white seeds such as blanched almonds help keep the bright green, though any seeds can do
• 1 medium entire egg

To Make the Salad

• 2 little gem lettuces, halved lengthways
• Cold-pressed olive oil, to taste
• Fresh lime juice or white-wine vinegar, to taste
• 1 generous handful fresh herbs (like chervil), sprigs left intact, stalks finely chopped

Steps

Begin by preparing the emulsion. Melt the butter in one medium pot, toss in the outer salad greens, place a lid and cook for approximately a minute, stirring once or twice, until they’ve wilted. Pour this mixture into a container of a immersion processor, add the nuts and egg, then blend till smooth. As necessary, incorporate more nuts to achieve the thick consistency. Store in a sealed jar in the fridge for as long as 3 days.

For assemble the dish, sprinkle each gem half with oil and acid, then season liberally. Coat with one tight drizzle of the herb mayonnaise, then scatter with the greens. Arrange on 2 plates and enjoy right away.