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Modeled after a popular New York restaurant, this groundbreaking method turns typically wasted outer lettuce leaves into an luxurious green emulsion. It’s an smart way to cut down on kitchen waste while making something tasty and versatile.

Why Repurpose External Salad Greens?

Those external greens are the plant’s natural wrapping, guarding the tender inside lettuce. While recycling produce scraps is a basic sustainable practice, discovering creative applications for them is even more beneficial. Turning surplus food into fertile soil avoids dump accumulation, where it may release methane, a potent environmental issue.

This is rather radical if you think over it: produce rots and transforms into the ideal soil to feed more crops, thus closing this loop and honoring nature’s cycle of life.

However, with more than 30% extra produce being produced than needed, consuming precious resources efficiently becomes essential. Minimizing waste not only conserves money but also promotes the increasingly sustainable way of living.

The Herb-Infused Emulsion Recipe

This adaptable formula functions with whatever variety of lettuce and nuts. Through using one whole egg, you eliminate any need to use up the leftover white. This result is an creamy, nutty sauce that pairs perfectly with salads, grilled vegetables, grilled poultry, pasta, or grains.

Serves two

To Make the Green Emulsion (Yields approximately 200 grams)

• 100g unsalted butter
• 50 grams outer lettuce leaves from two romaine or butter lettuce, rinsed and thoroughly dried
• 20g shelled salted nuts – light-colored seeds like cashews help keep a bright color, but any seeds will work
• 1 small entire egg

To Make the Side

• Two little gem heads, halved longwise
• Extra-virgin olive oil, to taste
• Fresh lime juice or white-wine vinegar, as desired
• 1 generous bunch fresh herbs (such as dill), leaves left intact, stems thinly chopped

Steps

First preparing the mayonnaise. Heat the butter in a small saucepan, toss in the outer lettuce leaves, cover and wilt for approximately 60 seconds, mixing a couple times, till they have softened. Pour the contents into the container of an immersion processor, include the nuts and whole egg, then process until creamy. If needed, incorporate more nuts to achieve a mayonnaise-like consistency. Store in a airtight jar in the refrigerator for as long as 3 days.

For prepare the salad, sprinkle each gem half with olive oil and acid, then salt liberally. Dress with one tight drizzle of the herb emulsion, then scatter with the greens. Place on two dishes and serve immediately.