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Drawing from a well-known NYC restaurant, the groundbreaking method turns typically wasted external salad greens into an smooth green emulsion. It’s an ingenious approach to reduce leftovers while producing something tasty and adaptable.

Why Use External Lettuce Greens?

Those external leaves are nature’s protective packaging, shielding the tender inside lettuce. While recycling produce scraps is a fundamental sustainable practice, discovering new uses for these parts is even more beneficial. Turning excess ingredients into rich soil avoids dump buildup, where they may emit methane, a powerful climate issue.

It’s quite innovative when you consider about it: produce rots and becomes the ideal soil to feed further plants, thereby completing this loop and respecting nature’s process of growth.

However, given over 30% extra produce being produced than required, consuming valuable resources wisely is essential. Reducing leftovers not only conserves money but also promotes the increasingly sustainable way of living.

This Herb-Infused Emulsion Method

This versatile formula works with any type of lettuce and seeds. Through using a entire egg, you eliminate the hassle to repurpose an extra egg white. This outcome is an smooth, nutty sauce that works beautifully with salads, grilled vegetables, seared poultry, noodles, or rice.

Serves 2

To Make the Green Emulsion (Yields about 200g)

• 100g unsalted butter
• 50g outer salad greens from 2 romaine or butter lettuce, washed and thoroughly dried
• 20 grams peeled roasted nuts – light-colored seeds like blanched almonds assist keep a bright color, though whatever seeds can do
• One medium entire egg

For the Salad

• 2 little gem heads, halved longwise
• Extra-virgin oil, to taste
• Fresh lime juice or white-wine vinegar, to taste
• 1 small bunch fresh herbs (such as chervil), sprigs left whole, stems finely chopped

Steps

First making the emulsion. Melt the butter in a small pot, toss in the outer lettuce greens, cover and cook for about 60 seconds, stirring once or twice, till they’ve wilted. Transfer the mixture into the container of an immersion blender, add the nuts and whole egg, then blend until creamy. If needed, add more seeds to achieve the mayonnaise-like texture. Keep in an airtight jar in the fridge for up to 3 days.

For assemble the dish, drizzle each lettuce half with oil and lemon juice, then season generously. Dress with one tight drizzle of the green mayonnaise, then scatter with the herbs. Place on 2 plates and serve right away.