Grilled Caesar Romaine

Here's a question for you....have you tried grilling your salad yet?  What?!  Yep. Last year I saw - and tried - a recipe for a grilled romaine salad with bacon, balsamic vinegar reduction and blue cheese and fell in love with salad all over again!  It reminded me of an old time wilted lettuce salad - only better.  

After a long trip back from Michigan on Sunday, we wanted a simple dinner - steaks on the grill won out!  What the hell, as long as the grill is hot, why not try the same technique on another salad favorite?  How about Caesar salad?  I whipped up a quick Caesar dressing with lemon, garlic, dry mustard and olive oil, then sauteed some garlic croutons and coarsely grated some good parm over the top.  The experiment was not only a success, it was delicious!

Grilled Caesar Romaine

• 1 head romaine lettuce - split in half lengthwise, cut side sprayed lightly with olive oil 
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 t. Worcestershire sauce
• 1 T. fresh lemon juice, more if you like it tarter
• 1 t. dry mustard - I use Coleman's
• 1/2 C. olive oil
• Parmigiano Reggiano, grated fresh to taste

• 2 slices bread - your favorite, in my case it's gluten-free, cut into small cubes
• 2 T. olive oil
• 1 large clove garlic, minced  

Whisk the 2 cloves minced garlic, Worcestershire, lemon juice, mustard and olive oil until emulsified.  Set aside.


In a small skillet, heat the olive oil and saute the bread cubes and garlic until crisp and golden. Set aside.

On a hot grill, put the romaine cut side down and grill just until beautiful grill marks appear.  Remove to a plate.

To serve, drizzle dressing lightly over each grilled romaine half, sprinkle with croutons and lightly grate the parm over each.  Serve!