🔗 Share this article

Modeled after an acclaimed New York eatery, the innovative technique turns typically wasted outer lettuce leaves into an luxurious green emulsion. It’s an ingenious approach to minimize food waste while creating a condiment tasty and adaptable.

The Reason Repurpose Outer Lettuce Leaves?

Those outer greens serve as nature’s natural packaging, shielding the delicate inside lettuce. While composting vegetable trimmings is one fundamental sustainable habit, finding new applications for them is even more beneficial. Converting surplus ingredients into rich compost prevents landfill accumulation, where they may emit greenhouse gases, which is a powerful environmental issue.

This is rather radical if you consider over it: produce rots and becomes the perfect growing medium to feed more plants, thus completing this loop and honoring the process of life.

Yet, with over 30% extra produce being made compared to needed, consuming valuable resources efficiently is essential. Reducing waste not only saves money but also supports the more eco-friendly lifestyle.

The Herb-Infused “Mayonnaise” Method

This versatile formula functions with any type of lettuce and seeds. Through using a whole egg, you avoid any hassle to use up the extra white. This outcome is an smooth, rich sauce that pairs beautifully with salads, roasted veggies, grilled poultry, noodles, or grains.

Yields 2

For the Herb Emulsion (Makes about 200g)

• 100 grams butter
• 50g outer salad greens of two romaine or butter lettuce, rinsed and thoroughly dried
• 20g peeled salted nuts – light-colored seeds like blanched almonds assist maintain a vivid green, though any nuts can work
• One medium entire egg

For the Side

• 2 little gem heads, split longwise
• Extra-virgin olive oil, as needed
• Lemon juice or apple cider vinegar, as desired
• One generous bunch soft herbs (such as chervil), sprigs picked intact, stems finely minced

Steps

Begin by making the emulsion. Melt the butter in one small pot, toss in the outer lettuce greens, cover and cook for about a minute, mixing a couple times, till they’ve wilted. Pour the mixture into the container of a immersion blender, add the pistachios and egg, then blend until smooth. As necessary, incorporate more seeds to get the thick consistency. Keep in an airtight jar in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

To assemble the dish, drizzle each gem half with olive oil and acid, then salt liberally. Dress with one zigzag drizzle of the herb mayonnaise, then scatter with the herbs. Place on two dishes and enjoy immediately.