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Modeled after a well-known New York eatery, this creative method converts typically wasted external salad greens into a smooth green “mayonnaise”. It’s an brilliant approach to reduce kitchen waste while making something flavorful and adaptable.

Why Repurpose Outer Salad Leaves?

These external greens serve as nature’s protective packaging, shielding the delicate inside leaves. Although recycling vegetable scraps is a fundamental sustainable practice, discovering new applications for them is even more impactful. Turning surplus ingredients into fertile compost prevents dump accumulation, where they may emit greenhouse gases, which is a potent climate concern.

It’s rather innovative if you think about it: produce rots and transforms into the ideal growing medium to nourish further plants, thus completing this cycle and respecting the process of life.

Yet, given more than 30% extra produce getting made compared to required, consuming precious ingredients efficiently is crucial. Reducing waste not only saves money but also supports a more sustainable way of living.

This Herb-Infused Emulsion Method

This versatile formula functions with any variety of lettuce and nuts. Through using a entire egg, one eliminate any need to repurpose the extra white. The result is a creamy, rich dressing that works beautifully with salads, grilled veggies, grilled poultry, noodles, or rice.

Yields 2

To Make the Herb Emulsion (Yields about 200 grams)

• 100 grams unsalted butter
• 50 grams external lettuce greens of two romaine or butter lettuce, washed and dried
• 20g shelled salted nuts – white nuts such as pine nuts assist maintain a vivid color, though whatever seeds will work
• One small entire egg

To Make the Salad

• 2 romaine or butter heads, split lengthways
• Extra-virgin olive oil, as needed
• Lemon juice or apple cider vinegar, as desired
• One small bunch soft herbs (like chives), sprigs picked whole, stems thinly minced

Steps

Begin by preparing the emulsion. Heat the fat in a medium saucepan, toss in the outer salad greens, place a lid and wilt for approximately 60 seconds, mixing once or twice, till they’ve wilted. Pour this contents into the jug of a immersion blender, add the nuts and whole egg, then process until creamy. If needed, incorporate extra nuts to get the mayonnaise-like texture. Store in an airtight jar in the refrigerator for as long as three days.

To assemble the dish, sprinkle each lettuce half with oil and acid, then salt liberally. Coat with one tight drizzle of the herb emulsion, then scatter with the greens. Arrange on 2 plates and enjoy right away.