Hail, Grilled Caesar Salad!
Our grilled romaine salad is everything you love about a classic Caesar salad (Crisp Croutons, lemony zip, a piling of parmesan, and yes, the grilled romaine maintains its crunch!), but with a subtly smoky, lightly charred, slightly spicy twist. We make this with Chimichurri Steak and Peach Cobbler for dessert.
Ingredients You’ll Need
Pickled onions – Homemade Pickled Onions add a flash of color and acid to the dish. You won’t regret the effort it takes to quick pickle a red onion.
Bread crumbs – The texture these homemade bread crumbs add to the salad will blow your mind. No chasing too-hard croutons around the plate with your fork.
Caesar dressing – We’re positive that homemade is best here, but a store-bought dressing will work.
Romaine hearts – This is a sturdy lettuce that can withstand the heat of the grill. It’s also the classic Caesar leaf.
Parmesan cheese – THE king of cheese, and the only cheese acceptable in a Caesar. We don’t like to be inflexible, especially when it comes to recipes, but this is undebatable.
How to Make Caesar Dressing
This homemade Caesar dressing is quick, easy and so delicious—here’s how it’s done:
Gather your Caesar dressing ingredients: light olive oil, one egg yolk, anchovy paste, Dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce, fresh lemon juice, and cayenne!
Blend with a whisk or immersion blender or food processor—until the dressing is totally emulsified–mixing the oil and egg yolk until smooth and incorporated. The egg yolk helps add body to the dressing, so it can grab onto the lettuce even better.
Drizzle on all the things including romaine lettuce hot off the grill.
How to Grill Romaine Lettuce
Grilled lettuce? Oh yeah! If you haven’t tried it, our grilled romaine salad recipe will be the one that convinces you. Here’s how to grill lettuce:
Choose the right lettuce. Garden-grown romaine totally works here, but we like the pre-washed, prepackaged stuff with the outer leaves already removed for our grilled romaine lettuce recipe. The packaged heads of romaine tend to be tighter, which works in your favor when it comes to grilling romaine.
Cut in half lengthwise, keeping the stem intact for ease and to help the head of romaine hold together on the grill.
Grill over medium-low heat, and whatever you do, resist the urge to move them! We want your grilled romaine caesar to show off those pretty dark grill marks.
Dress generously with Caesar salad dressing, crisp croutons, and fresh parmesan shavings. This is no time to skimp on the toppings.
How to Store + Tips
This is best consumed the day you make it, as close to the time you pull the last romaine half from the grill. However, if you do have leftovers, they’re best eaten the next day.
We don’t recommend freezing raw or grilled romaine. But breadcrumbs can be stored in the freezer, and pickled onions last a long time in the fridge.
You’re going to need a grill. Gas or charcoal both work great.
Your trusty food processor will come in handy to help the olive oil fully emulsify with the rest of the Caesar dressing ingredients.
This salad is p-r-e-t-t-y. Show it off on your favorite serving platter.
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Lettuce Lovers Unite!!
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