Grilled salad? I know, sounds weird doesn’t it. I was filled with a sense of disbelief and certainly some trepidation myself when I was first introduced to a salad with grilled Romaine lettuce a couple of years ago at the Snowmass Culinary and Arts Festival. The cooking demonstration by Diane Hendricks was fun but the best part was my first taste of that smoky, delicious salad with grilled Romaine. That salad was finished with a simple dressing and served on paper plates for a crowd but I learned something and have since used the same technique to make this Grilled Caesar Salad with Homemade Crouton on several occasions.
I invited some friends to join me for dinner this past weekend; all women that I’ve known over the years that I’ve recently connected with on Facebook. Sandy, my neighbor when I was going through a divorce and lost touch with when my girls and I moved from our neighborhood 25 years ago (sorry you couldn’t make it after all Sandy; next time!). I met Pam when I went to work after that divorce at a large cable company. We lost touch when I left that job and Pam married and moved to the mountains; she has since moved back to this area and we saw each other on Facebook and have gotten together a few times; she was even kind enough to come help me with kitchen boxes when I moved. You know how huge THAT job is!
Cheryl was a friend I met when I was a member of a local Chamber of Commerce; we were a part of a group that always had a great time at Chamber events. Promote our businesses? I don’t know but we sure had fun socializing. I left the Chamber about the same time Cheryl and her husband were breaking up and somehow lost touch. I met Roanne through some Meetup groups; we both participated in a movie group and I ran a Denver wine meetup. We got together to drink wine…I think today it would have to be cocktails though, right?
I hope all my food blogging friends will sympathize when I asked THE DAY BEFORE if I had to be concerned about any food issues. Let’s see. Gluten Free. Lactose Intolerant. No Beef, Chicken, Pork, Fish or Shellfish. Eggs and dairy OK. Thankful NO ONE said no booze. I would have cried!
I found some Gluten Free Crackers at Costco that I served with cream cheese topped with my favorite Blackberry Serrano jam and accompanied the appetizer with Lemon Drop Martinis. For our main course I decided to make this Grilled Caesar Salad with Homemade Croutons and have a couple of options on the side including grilled chicken and flank steak, chopped hard boiled eggs, Parmesan cheese, homemade croutons and both regular and anchovy free dressing for the salad. Everyone could not eat everything but there were enough choices that everyone was able to prepare their salad with what they could eat and it was the perfect choice. I was the lucky one…no food allergies for me; I got to add it all!
The salad has a couple of nuances that made it a bit unique from what I’ve done in the past. Those anchovies? Not skinny sliced fillets at all but anchovies from Wild Planet. Also known as boquerones in Spanish restaurants worldwide, these sustainably caught white anchovies are smaller and more delicate in texture than a sardine, with a clean, mild flavor that is the perfect compliment to this dressing.
With so many dietary restrictions to consider; I wondered if someone would have an issue with the raw egg I would typically use for Caesar Salad dressing; I’ve got a couple of recipes that call for raw egg and I’ve never had any issues but I wanted to proceed with extra caution. I decided to coddle the egg I use in my favorite recipe; a simple procedure that requires submerging an egg in boiling water for exactly one minute. The egg surface and the outermost layer of the egg white will be cooked slightly thus eliminating some of the risk carried with eating a raw egg, however, it’s important to note it does not COMPLETELY remove the possibility of contamination. If you’re concerned that this procedure isn’t enough then use a pasteurized egg or just substitute the egg with a dollop of mayonnaise the size of an egg yolk; the taste and texture will be changed slightly but it’s still a great flavor.
The coup de grace for me are the homemade croutons; I could make these and never get the salad done I love them so much. You know the routine, ‘I think I’ll just have one more’ turns into ‘where the heck did the croutons go?’ very quickly! Great in this salad, this same recipe is also perfect for croutons for soups so don’t forget this come winter; the same precautions about eating them up applies!
I made this for dinner again last night…this could become a habit. A really yummy habit.
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Yield: 4 Servings
Ingredients
- For the Croutons:
- 1/2 to 1 tsp garlic powder ( use more or less depending on your tastt)
- 2 Tbsp butter, melted
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- Pinch of salt
- 2 cups French bread slices cut up into 1/2 inch cubes For the Salad Dressing:
- 1 large egg
- 1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- Juice of 1/2 lemon (If juicing just one half of a lemon; simply puncture the membranes all around each half using a fork; the juice will run out. Give a quick squeeze when done too.
- 2 medium garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 pinch salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
- 2-3 anchovies
- 1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon capers
- 1/2 cup olive oil For the Romaine Grilling:
- 2 medium heads of romaine lettuce -- outer leaves removed and cut in half; do NOT remove the stem end; that keeps it held together on the grill.
- 1 Tbsp olive oil To Prepare the Salad:
- 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese -- grated
Preparation
- To Make the Croutons:
- Combine the garlic powder, melted butter, olive oil and salt in a large bowl. Mix until blended; add the bread cubes and toss until evenly coated.
- Spread the bread cubes onto a baking sheet and bake for about 10 minutes until the bread is golden. Remove from the oven and allow to cool. For the Salad Dressing:
- Bring a small pot of boiling water to boil, add the egg and cook for just 60 seconds EXACTLY. Remove the egg from the water and place it in a bowl of cold water to stop the cooking process and cool the egg.
- Combine the balsamic vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, garlic, salt & pepper, anchovies, mustard and capers in a blender or food processor; crack the egg and add it to the other ingredients and mix well. While blending, pour the olive oil into either the blender or processor in a slow stream until thoroughly combined and thickened. To Serve:
- Brush the Romaine lettuce lightly with olive oil; place on a hot grill and grill on both sides for approximately 2 minutes each side. Remove from grill to a plate and allow to cool.
- Pour half of the dressing into a large bowl.
- Cut the romaine lettuce into 1 inch pieces and add them to the bowl ; mix until the leaves are all coated.
- Add the Parmesan cheese and croutons, toss and serve on chilled plates.
- Pass the remaining dressing for individuals to add more if they choose. Or save it for yourself for later. :)
