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Modeled after a popular NYC restaurant, this groundbreaking method transforms usually thrown-out external lettuce greens into a smooth herbaceous emulsion. It’s a smart approach to minimize kitchen waste while producing something tasty and adaptable.

Why Use External Salad Greens?

Those external leaves are nature’s protective wrapping, guarding the tender inside lettuce. While recycling vegetable scraps is a fundamental zero-waste habit, discovering creative applications for these parts is even more beneficial. Turning excess ingredients into fertile soil prevents dump accumulation, where they can emit methane, which is a powerful environmental issue.

This is quite innovative if you think over it: produce rots and becomes the perfect soil to nourish more crops, thus closing the cycle and respecting nature’s process of growth.

However, given more than thirty percent extra food being produced compared to required, using valuable resources efficiently is essential. Reducing waste not only saves cash but also supports a increasingly sustainable way of living.

The Herb-Infused “Mayonnaise” Method

This adaptable recipe works with any type of lettuce and seeds. By using a entire egg, you eliminate any need to use up an extra white. The result is an smooth, nutty sauce that pairs perfectly with greens, grilled veggies, seared poultry, noodles, or rice.

Yields 2

For the Green Emulsion (Yields approximately 200 grams)

• 100 grams butter
• 50 grams external salad leaves of 2 romaine or butter lettuce, washed and thoroughly dried
• 20g peeled roasted nuts – white nuts like blanched almonds assist maintain a vivid green, but any seeds will work
• One small entire egg

For the Salad

• 2 little gem lettuces, halved lengthways
• Extra-virgin olive oil, as needed
• Lemon juice or white-wine vinegar, as desired
• One generous handful soft herbs (such as dill), sprigs picked whole, stems thinly chopped

Steps

First preparing the mayonnaise. Heat the fat in one medium saucepan, add the outer lettuce greens, cover and wilt for about a minute, mixing once or twice, till they’ve wilted. Transfer the contents into a jug of a immersion blender, include the nuts and egg, then process till smooth. If needed, incorporate more seeds to get a mayonnaise-like texture. Keep in a airtight container in the fridge for as long as three days.

To assemble the salad, sprinkle each lettuce half with oil and acid, then season liberally. Dress with a zigzag pattern of the herb emulsion, then scatter with the herbs. Arrange on two plates and serve immediately.