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Grilled Caesar Salad
Grilling season is here, and when the weather gets warm it’s tempting to try to cook as much as we can outdoors on the grill. The problem is that it can sometimes get tricky to come up with interesting vegetarian dishes for the grill. Sure, you can grill vegetables and fruit, but often it turns out to be something of a side dish. Today’s quick fix is going to change that for you as I share with you how to make a version of caesar salad on the grill that is hearty enough for a main dish. It’s kind of like an open-faced caesar salad sandwich.
You’re probably thinking, “Roger wants me to grill a salad? He must mean something different. Certainly you can’t grill lettuce?” Here’s the good news. You CAN grill lettuce. Romaine lettuce in particular stands up very well on the grill. You can the get the recipe for everything I talk about in this episode at kitchencounterpodcast.com/34.
There are three main components to this dish:
The Dressing
The Lettuce
The Bread
Let’s start with the dressing since you can make that up to a day ahead if you want. Here’s what you’ll need:
Dressing
3 1/2 TBSP Nonfat Plain Greek Yogurt
1 TBSP Fresh Lemon Juice
1 TBSP Mayonnaise
1 tsp Dijon Mustard
1 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
2 TBSP Parmesan Cheese, grated
Black Pepper, to taste
Combine all ingredients in a bowl and whisk together until well incorporated. Refrigerate.
(By the way–this dressing will make an awesome sandwich spread too!)
Lettuce
Romaine Hearts, cut in half lengthwise
1 TBSP Olive Oil
1 TBSP Lemon Juice
1 tsp Dijon Mustard
For the lettuce you want to use romaine hearts, cut in half lengthwise. If you leave the root end intact the lettuce will hold together on the grill. You are going to want to mix together the olive oil, lemon juice, and mustard then brush that mixture on the romaine. Grill the romaine over direct medium heat for about 5 minutes. You don’t want it to burn, but a little char is ok.
Bread
For the bread you’ll want to get some crusty Italian bread you can slice up and toss on the grill to give it some crunch.
Here’s how you put it all together:
Take some of your dressing and smear it on the toasted bread, then put the romaine right on top of that. There you go! The romaine will have a nice grilled flavor, and the dressing is going to add a spectacular tangy kick. Add a little more parmesan to the final dish to finish it off. The bread kind of acts like a giant crouton. Get yourself a fork and a knife, because you are going to need it!
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