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Salads seem like something summery, not so much a winter dish. But the great irony of this is that many salad greens and lettuces are at their peak in the cold winter months. But there’s an easy way to make salads a bit richer and more suitable for January (and without breaking any new year’s resolutions): grill (or broil) the lettuce. Sounds crazy, but it’s incredibly tasty. Grilled romaine lettuce is the star of this easy Caesar salad recipe.
Shake up Caesar Salad with Grilled Romaine lettuce
I know it sounds wrong. But hear me out: grilling the romaine is an easy way to give new life to an otherwise standard Caesar salad. A little char on the romaine lettuce brings in a nice smokiness and complexity to what’s honestly kind of a boring lettuce.
It doesn’t take long: 2-3 minutes is all it takes to grill romaine lettuce to perfection.
Ingredients and Substitutions
Romaine Lettuce
Romaine lettuce is the classic choice for Caesar salads. The dark green outer leaves are bitter, where the inner romaine hearts are mild and crunchy. For this salad, I prefer using the whole head of romaine, rather than just the hearts, because the bitterness in the outer leaves helps to balance out the savoriness/umami of the dressing. However, it is totally possible to use the hearts only in this salad.
Other types of lettuce can be broiled or grilled this way too. Any whole head of lettuce can be halved and broiled in the oven to get a nice char for additional flavor.
Chicken Thighs
Chicken thighs are juicier and more flavorful than the more common chicken breast. They can withstand cooking at higher temperatures and are more forgiving in the cooking process. Nine out of ten times I’ll use thighs instead of breasts.
To save time on this recipe, I buy boneless, skinless chicken thighs. But if I have plenty of time on my hands, I’ll buy the bone-in version and cut out and save the bones to make stock.
In general, I prefer to buy my meat (and eggs) from the farmers market rather than the supermarket. Chickens, in particular, are happier when they get free range time, as they get to eat insects and have a wider range in their diet (you can tell a chicken was happy by looking at the color of the yolks in their eggs. The more orange the yolk, the happier the chicken).
Sourdough Bread
Without a doubt, sourdough is my favorite type of bread. I love the chewy texture and the sourness that comes from a San Francisco sourdough.
But, don’t feel limited to sourdough just because that’s what I used. See what breads are baked locally; any crusty white loaf will work well as croutons.
Tips and Tricks
I don’t have a true grill at home, so I use the broiler in my oven to achieve the grilled effect. Heating up the broiler is faster than setting up a grill (and requires less cleanup), so even those with a good grill at home may want to use this trick.
Serving Suggestions
As with many salads, the leftovers of this Grilled Romaine Caesar Salad don’t hold up in the refrigerator. Grill the lettuce just before serving.
The dressing, on the other hand, can be made up to 2 days ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator. This part of the recipe is inspired by the classic Caesar dressing recipe from Bon Appetit, but with a few twists. I do not add parmesan to my dressing; there is more than enough salt and umami from the anchovies. I also switch out the Dijon mustard for spicy brown mustard. These simple substitutions/omissions make this dressing Whole30 compliant, so feel free to take it and use it on whatever salad you like.
Grilled Romaine Caesar Salad
The grilled romaine lettuce is the star of the show in this easy Caesar salad.
Ingredients
For the Dressing
- 3 tbsp anchovy paste
- 1 garlic clove
- 2 egg yolks
- 2 tbsp lemon juice (approximately ½ lemon)
- ¾ tsp spicy brown mustard
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- ½ cup avocado oil
- black pepper
For the Salad
- 4 thick cut slices sourdough bread
- 2 tbsp avocado oil
- ¾ lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- Kosher salt
- ½ pint cherry tomatoes
- ½ small red onion
- 2 heads romaine lettuce
- ½ cup grated parmesan cheese
Instructions
Make the Dressing
- Add anchovy paste, garlic clove, egg yolks, lemon juice, and mustard to a blender. Blend on medium for approximately 2 minutes or until mixture is fully combined and starts to lighten in color.
- Very slowly pour in the olive oil while the blender is still running.
- In a slow steady stream, pour in the avocado oil while the blender is still running. The dressing will thicken and lighten in color as all of the oil is added.
- Add black pepper to taste.
- Dressing will keep for up to 2 days in the refrigerator.
Make the Salad
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Cut sourdough bread slices into cubes and place on a sheet pan. Toast in the oven for approximately 5 minutes. Toss bread cubes and toast for another 5 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and set aside.
- While the croutons are toasting, add avocado oil to a cast iron pan and bring to a medium-high heat. Season the chicken thighs with salt and sauté until golden on both sides and chicken is fully cooked.
- Prep the tomatoes by slicing in half. Slice the red onion thinly on a mandolin or with a sharp knife. Set aside.
- Set the oven to broil. If a temperature selection is needed, set oven to 525°F.
- Cut romaine lettuce heads in half and place halves cut side up on a sheet pan. Use 2 sheet pans if necessary for all four lettuce halves.
- Broil lettuce for 2-3 minutes. The cut side of the lettuce will turn a deep brown. If using two sheet pans, broil lettuce one sheet pan at a time.
- Chop lettuce into bite sized pieces.
- Add dressing, lettuce, croutons, tomatoes, and red onions to a large salad bowl and toss until combined.
- Serve with grated parmesan on top of each serving of grilled romaine Caesar salad.
