🔗 Share this article

Inspired by a popular NYC restaurant, the creative method turns typically wasted external lettuce greens into a smooth green “mayonnaise”. It’s a brilliant way to reduce kitchen waste while producing something delicious and flexible.

The Reason Use External Lettuce Leaves?

Those external leaves serve as nature’s natural packaging, guarding the tender inner lettuce. While recycling produce scraps is a basic sustainable practice, discovering creative applications for them is additionally impactful. Converting surplus food into fertile compost prevents landfill buildup, where they can emit greenhouse gases, which is a potent climate issue.

This is rather innovative when you think about it: produce decomposes and becomes that ideal growing medium to feed further crops, thus completing the loop and respecting nature’s cycle of growth.

Yet, with over thirty percent surplus food being made than required, consuming valuable ingredients efficiently becomes essential. Reducing waste not only conserves money but also promotes the increasingly sustainable way of living.

This Herb-Infused “Mayonnaise” Recipe

This adaptable formula functions with any type of lettuce and nuts. By using one entire egg, one eliminate the hassle to repurpose the leftover white. The result is an creamy, nutty dressing that pairs beautifully with salads, roasted veggies, seared poultry, noodles, or rice.

Serves 2

For the Herb Emulsion (Makes about 200 grams)

• 100g butter
• 50g outer lettuce leaves of two romaine or butter lettuce, washed and thoroughly dried
• 20 grams peeled roasted nuts – light-colored seeds like cashews help keep the bright color, though whatever seeds can work
• One medium entire egg

For the Side

• 2 little gem heads, halved longwise
• Extra-virgin oil, to taste
• Fresh lime juice or white-wine vinegar, to taste
• 1 generous handful soft herbs (such as parsley), leaves left intact, stalks thinly chopped

Instructions

Begin by making the mayonnaise. Melt the fat in one medium pot, toss in the external lettuce leaves, place a lid and wilt for about a minute, stirring a couple times, till they’ve softened. Transfer the mixture into a container of a stick blender, add the nuts and whole egg, then blend till smooth. As necessary, incorporate more nuts to achieve the thick consistency. Keep in an sealed container in the fridge for up to 3 days.

For prepare the salad, sprinkle each lettuce half with olive oil and lemon juice, then salt generously. Coat with a tight drizzle of the herb mayonnaise, then top with the herbs. Arrange on 2 plates and enjoy right away.