🔗 Share this article

Inspired by a popular New York restaurant, this creative technique turns often-discarded outer lettuce greens into an velvety green emulsion. It’s a ingenious way to reduce leftovers while creating a condiment flavorful and versatile.

Why Use Outer Lettuce Greens?

Those outer leaves serve as nature’s protective wrapping, guarding the delicate inner leaves. While recycling produce trimmings is a fundamental sustainable practice, discovering new applications for these parts is even more impactful. Turning surplus food into rich compost avoids landfill accumulation, where it can emit methane, a potent climate concern.

This is rather radical when you consider about it: produce rots and becomes the perfect growing medium to nourish more crops, thus closing this loop and respecting nature’s process of life.

However, with over 30% extra produce getting produced compared to needed, consuming precious ingredients wisely is essential. Reducing waste not only saves money but also supports the increasingly sustainable lifestyle.

This Herb-Infused “Mayonnaise” Recipe

The adaptable formula works with whatever type of salad greens and nuts. By using one whole egg, you eliminate any hassle to use up an extra white. The result is an creamy, rich sauce that pairs perfectly with salads, roasted vegetables, grilled chicken, noodles, or rice.

Serves 2

For the Green Emulsion (Makes approximately 200 grams)

• 100 grams unsalted butter
• 50g outer lettuce greens from 2 little gems, rinsed and dried
• 20g peeled salted nuts – light-colored seeds like blanched almonds assist maintain a vivid green, but any nuts can do
• 1 small whole egg

For the Salad

• Two little gem heads, split lengthways
• Extra-virgin oil, as needed
• Lemon juice or white-wine vinegar, to taste
• One small bunch fresh herbs (such as chervil), leaves left intact, stalks thinly chopped

Steps

First preparing the emulsion. Heat the butter in a small saucepan, toss in the outer salad leaves, cover and wilt for approximately a minute, stirring once or twice, until they’ve softened. Pour the contents into a container of an stick processor, include the nuts and egg, then process until creamy. If needed, add more nuts to achieve a mayonnaise-like texture. Store in an airtight jar in the refrigerator for as long as 3 days.

To assemble the salad, drizzle each lettuce half with oil and lemon juice, then season generously. Coat with a tight drizzle of the green emulsion, then scatter with the herbs. Place on 2 plates and enjoy right away.