🔗 Share this article

Modeled after an acclaimed New York eatery, the innovative technique turns usually thrown-out outer lettuce greens into a luxurious green emulsion. It’s an ingenious way to reduce kitchen waste while producing something delicious and flexible.

The Reason Repurpose External Lettuce Leaves?

Those outer greens serve as nature’s protective wrapping, guarding the tender inner leaves. While recycling produce trimmings is one basic zero-waste habit, finding new applications for them is additionally impactful. Converting surplus ingredients into fertile compost avoids landfill buildup, where it may release methane, a powerful environmental concern.

It’s rather innovative if you consider over it: produce decomposes and transforms into that ideal soil to feed more plants, thereby closing the loop and honoring the cycle of life.

Yet, given more than 30% surplus food getting made compared to required, using valuable ingredients efficiently is crucial. Reducing waste not only conserves money but also supports the more eco-friendly way of living.

The Green “Mayonnaise” Recipe

The versatile formula works with whatever type of lettuce and nuts. Through incorporating a whole egg, one eliminate the hassle to use up the extra egg white. The outcome is a smooth, nutty dressing that works perfectly with salads, grilled veggies, grilled poultry, noodles, or rice.

Serves 2

To Make the Herb Emulsion (Yields about 200 grams)

• 100g unsalted butter
• 50 grams outer salad greens of 2 romaine or butter lettuce, rinsed and dried
• 20g shelled roasted nuts – light-colored nuts like cashews help maintain the vivid color, though any nuts can do
• 1 small entire egg

For the Salad

• 2 romaine or butter lettuces, split longwise
• Extra-virgin olive oil, to taste
• Lemon juice or white-wine vinegar, as desired
• 1 generous bunch fresh greens (like dill), sprigs picked whole, stems thinly minced

Steps

First preparing the emulsion. Melt the butter in a small saucepan, add the external lettuce greens, cover and cook for about a minute, mixing once or twice, till they have wilted. Pour the contents into a container of an stick processor, include the nuts and whole egg, then blend until creamy. If needed, add more nuts to get a thick consistency. Store in an airtight jar in the fridge for up to 3 days.

To prepare the salad, drizzle each lettuce half with oil and lemon juice, then season liberally. Coat with a tight pattern of the herb mayonnaise, then top with the greens. Arrange on 2 plates and serve immediately.