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Modeled after an acclaimed NYC restaurant, the innovative technique converts usually thrown-out external lettuce leaves into a velvety green emulsion. It’s an smart approach to reduce food waste while creating a condiment delicious and adaptable.

Why Use Outer Lettuce Greens?

Those outer greens serve as nature’s natural wrapping, guarding the delicate inner lettuce. While composting vegetable scraps is one basic zero-waste habit, discovering creative applications for these parts is even more beneficial. Turning surplus ingredients into fertile soil avoids dump buildup, where it may release greenhouse gases, a powerful climate issue.

This is rather innovative if you consider about it: produce rots and transforms into that ideal growing medium to nourish more plants, thus completing the loop and respecting the process of life.

However, given over 30% extra produce being produced compared to needed, using precious resources efficiently is crucial. Minimizing leftovers not only saves cash but also promotes the increasingly sustainable lifestyle.

This Green Emulsion Recipe

The adaptable formula functions with whatever variety of lettuce and nuts. By incorporating one entire egg, you avoid any hassle to repurpose the extra egg white. This outcome is a creamy, nutty sauce that pairs perfectly with salads, grilled veggies, seared poultry, pasta, or rice.

Serves 2

For the Herb Emulsion (Makes about 200 grams)

• 100 grams butter
• 50 grams outer salad leaves of 2 little gems, washed and thoroughly dried
• 20 grams shelled roasted pistachios – light-colored nuts like cashews help maintain the bright color, though whatever nuts can do
• One small entire egg

To Make the Side

• 2 little gem lettuces, split lengthways
• Extra-virgin oil, to taste
• Lemon juice or apple cider vinegar, to taste
• 1 small handful fresh greens (such as dill), sprigs picked intact, stems finely minced

Steps

First preparing the emulsion. Melt the fat in a small saucepan, toss in the outer salad leaves, place a lid and cook for about a minute, stirring once or twice, until they’ve wilted. Transfer the contents into the container of a stick blender, include the nuts and egg, then process till creamy. If needed, incorporate more nuts to get the thick texture. Keep in a sealed jar in the fridge for as long as 3 days.

To prepare the salad, drizzle each lettuce half with oil and acid, then salt liberally. Coat with one tight drizzle of the herb mayonnaise, then top with the herbs. Place on two plates and enjoy right away.