🔗 Share this article

Drawing from a popular New York restaurant, this creative method turns often-discarded external lettuce greens into an luxurious green “mayonnaise”. It’s an smart way to minimize leftovers while making something flavorful and versatile.

The Reason Use Outer Lettuce Leaves?

Those outer leaves serve as nature’s natural packaging, shielding the tender inside lettuce. While composting produce trimmings is one fundamental sustainable practice, discovering new uses for these parts is additionally impactful. Converting surplus food into rich compost avoids dump buildup, where it may release methane, a powerful climate concern.

This is rather innovative if you consider over it: produce rots and becomes that perfect growing medium to feed further crops, thereby completing the loop and respecting the cycle of life.

However, given more than 30% surplus produce being produced compared to needed, using valuable resources efficiently becomes crucial. Minimizing leftovers not only conserves money but also promotes the more eco-friendly way of living.

This Green “Mayonnaise” Method

This versatile formula works with any type of lettuce and seeds. By using a whole egg, one eliminate any need to repurpose an leftover egg white. The result is a creamy, rich dressing that pairs perfectly with greens, grilled veggies, grilled poultry, pasta, or rice.

Yields two

For the Herb Emulsion (Yields about 200 grams)

• 100 grams butter
• 50 grams external lettuce leaves from 2 little gems, washed and dried
• 20g peeled salted nuts – light-colored seeds like blanched almonds assist keep the vivid green, but whatever nuts will do
• 1 medium entire egg

To Make the Side

• Two romaine or butter lettuces, halved lengthways
• Cold-pressed olive oil, to taste
• Lemon juice or apple cider vinegar, as desired
• One generous bunch soft greens (such as dill), sprigs picked whole, stalks thinly chopped

Instructions

First preparing the emulsion. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan, toss in the outer lettuce leaves, place a lid and cook for about 60 seconds, stirring a couple times, till they’ve wilted. Pour this mixture into the jug of a stick blender, include the nuts and egg, then process until creamy. If needed, add extra nuts to achieve a mayonnaise-like texture. Keep in an sealed jar in the refrigerator for up to three days.

To assemble the dish, drizzle each lettuce half with oil and acid, then salt liberally. Coat with one zigzag drizzle of the green emulsion, then top with the greens. Arrange on two plates and enjoy immediately.