Grilled Caesar Salad
3 Comments
I'll admit it: since I'm not the chef in our relationship, I tend to think outside the box. Way outside. It can get me in trouble. There's an Elvis spread in The Ultimate Peanut Butter Book that Bruce won't let me live down: peanut butter, bacon, bananas, and honey in a food processor. OK, so I wasn't on my A game.
But I was for a grilled Caesar. No, not the ever-present, always-hackneyed grilled-chicken Caesar (which, may I add, if I ever see another one at some banquet or luncheon, someone's going to get a fork in the eye.) Instead, this is actually a salad where you grill the lettuce.
I love roasted and grilled lettuces. Well-roasted radicchio halves are a thing of beauty next to a piece of grilled chicken or pork. So why not in a salad?
First, fire up a grill pan over high heat or fire up the grill for high-heat cooking.
Then cut a head of Romaine in half through the root, as well as a couple heads of radicchio. Put some olive oil in a large baking dish and dip the lettuces in it cut side down. Rub them around a bit to get the oil in the leaves (but not too much or the salad will turn depressingly oily).
Set them on the grill pan or grill grate cut side down and grill for 4 minutes, until a little charred and wilted. They'll smoke quite a bit but remember: blackened is flavor. Not too much, but a judicious amount. Once done, transfer them to a cutting board, cut out the solid cores, and chop the leaves.
Put them in a bowl and add some of Bruce's divine Caesar dressing (here) as well as a little more shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano or maybe some finely grated Asiago or even some crumbled goat cheese.
And you're done. Period. A grilled Caesar salad.
And if you absolutely insist on putting a sliced, grilled chicken breast on the thing, then by all means have at it. Even invite me over. Just take away my fork, put a beer in my hand, and warn me.
Reader Comments (3)
But maybe instead of grilled chicken, we can start a trend of adding grilled sardines to Ceaser salads. I would say grilled anchovies, but they are so darn hard to find fresh...
I just made grilled radicchio last night, but the recipe called for marinating it in balsamic and evoo. The balsamic really made the thing WAY too bitter after roasting. Any tips (from you or Bruce) to counteract, or complement, the inherent bitterness of radicchio?
Cheryl: Which recipe? Ours? But there's no way that grilled radicchio won't be bitter. It is. But the combination above with the Romaine tames it a little. And no, I wouldn't marinate it. I'd leave the balsamic out and simply dip it in the olive oil. Does that answer the question?