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Drawing from a well-known New York restaurant, this groundbreaking method converts often-discarded outer salad greens into an velvety herbaceous emulsion. It’s an smart way to cut down on food waste while producing a condiment tasty and versatile.

The Reason Use External Lettuce Leaves?

These external greens are nature’s protective wrapping, guarding the delicate inner lettuce. Although composting produce scraps is a basic zero-waste practice, finding new uses for them is even more beneficial. Converting excess ingredients into rich soil avoids landfill buildup, where they may release methane, a potent environmental issue.

It’s quite innovative when you consider over it: food rots and transforms into that perfect growing medium to feed more crops, thus completing the cycle and honoring nature’s cycle of growth.

Yet, given over 30% surplus food being produced than required, consuming valuable ingredients efficiently is essential. Minimizing leftovers not only conserves money but also supports the more sustainable lifestyle.

The Green “Mayonnaise” Method

The versatile formula functions with any variety of lettuce and seeds. Through using one entire egg, you avoid any hassle to repurpose an leftover white. This result is a creamy, rich dressing that works beautifully with salads, grilled veggies, grilled poultry, noodles, or rice.

Yields two

For the Herb Emulsion (Yields approximately 200g)

• 100g butter
• 50 grams outer salad leaves from 2 romaine or butter lettuce, washed and dried
• 20g peeled salted pistachios – white nuts such as blanched almonds help maintain the vivid green, though any nuts will work
• One small whole egg

To Make the Salad

• 2 little gem heads, split longwise
• Cold-pressed oil, to taste
• Fresh lime juice or apple cider vinegar, as desired
• One generous handful soft herbs (like chervil), sprigs left intact, stems finely minced

Instructions

First preparing the emulsion. Heat the butter in a small saucepan, toss in the external lettuce leaves, cover and cook for about a minute, stirring once or twice, till they’ve wilted. Transfer the mixture into a jug of a immersion blender, add the nuts and whole egg, then process until smooth. As necessary, incorporate extra seeds to get the mayonnaise-like consistency. Keep in a sealed container in the fridge for up to three days.

For prepare the salad, drizzle each lettuce half with olive oil and acid, then season liberally. Coat with a zigzag pattern of the green mayonnaise, then top with the greens. Place on 2 plates and serve immediately.