Everything’s Better on the Bar B Que!
It’s officially summer grilling time! I wait all year to get my garden growing and start to enjoy the benefits of all that hard work. The first of the crops this year, romaine lettuce and plenty of it. What better way to celebrate this gorgeous veggie than making one of my favorites, a Grilled Romaine Salad with Creamy Garlic Parmesan Dressing. If you’ve never tried grilling Romaine lettuce, I say do It! It’s really adds so much extra flavor to your salad. This gets even better with the addition of a Creamy Garlic Parmesan Dressing. It’s a take on creamy Caesar dressing, but made with non-fat Greek yogurt. Seriously, you won’t even know it’s not the richest most creamy bit of business you’ve ever topped a salad with.
Those Pesky Wabbits and Squirrels Too! 🐰🐿
Every year there’s a battle of wills that’s fought to the end in my garden. This year, I think the rabbits and the squirrels are in the lead. They’ve learned to dig under my fence and over my pots to enjoy whatever they so desire. They’ve actually pulled the whole celery stalks right out of the tall pots I grow them in. Sometimes I catch then in the act and chase them around like a crazy ogre. They’re probably laughing at me, because they watch me when I don’t even have the kahoonies to kill snails 🐌!
Well, I showed them today, when I harvested most of my gorgeous lettuce. At least I will get to eat a little of it this time! If rabbits and squirrels would only learn to love weeds, we’d all get along famously, right?
For The Creamy Garlic Parmesan Dressing
You can make this in a bowl, or right into the bowl of your food processor or blender.
Add 1/2 cup non-fat Greek yogurt, 1/2 cup of freshly grated Parmesan cheese and the zest and juice of 1 lemon. Finely mince 2 cloves of garlic, then add 1/4 teaspoon of kosher salt on top of the garlic and press with the side of your knife. Press until the garlic becomes a paste and add that to the bowl. Add 1 teaspoon of anchovy paste. If you really don’t want to use anchovy, you can substitute with a tablespoon of capers. Next, add 1/2 teaspoon each of dried thyme, oregano and basil and 1/8 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper. Mix everything well.
Slowly add 1/4 cup of good quality olive oil. If you’re using a whisk, add the oil slowly while whisking. If using a blender or food processor, just add slowly while the machine is on high.
Remove and put the dressing into a sealed jar and refrigerate until ready to use. This dressing will stay fresh about 1 week refrigerated.
For the Grilled Romaine Salad
Wash 1 cup of cherry tomatoes and cut them in half. Set aside.
Wash the lettuce and dry it well.
Remove any of the large outer leaves. Trim the bottom, but keep the entire head of lettuce together. If you are using hearts of romaine, split in half, keeping the root ends attached to each half. If the head is very large, split it into quarters carefully, keeping the root end secured.
Brush or spray the lettuce generously with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper on both sides. Make sure that the grill is preheated and treated with non-stick treatment however you normally do that on your grill. I lightly brush the grill with oil as it is heating.
Put the lettuce on direct flame, about 3 minutes per side. You want to be sure you’re getting enough char on the lettuce leaves. Turn over and cook the other side as well.
How To Serve Grilled Romaine Salad with Creamy Garlic Parmesan Dressing
Serve with dressing and cherry tomatoes. Top with extra grated Parmesan Cheese.
Enjoy!
Romaine Salad, Grilled with Creamy Garlic Parmesan Dressing
Ingredients
- 2 hearts of romaine lettuce or 1 large head of romaine lettuce
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
For the Cream Garlic Parmesan Dressing
- 1/2 cup non-fat Greek yogurt
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (plus extra for garnish/serving)
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 2 cloves of garlic
- juice and zest of 1 lemon (about 1/3 cup lemon juice)
- 1 teaspoon anchovy paste
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
Instructions
For the Dressing
- You can make this in a bowl, or right into the bowl of your food processor or blender.
- Add 1/2 cup non-fat Greek yogurt, 1/2 cup of freshly grated Parmesan cheese and the zest and juice of 1 lemon (about 1/3 cup lemon juice)
- Finely mince 2 cloves of garlic, then add 1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt on top of the garlic and press with the side of your knife. Press until the garlic becomes a paste and add that to the bowl.
- Next add 1 teaspoon of Dijon mustard, 1 teaspoon of anchovy paste. (you can substitute with a tablespoon of capers.)
- Next, add 1/2 teaspoon each of dried thyme, oregano and basil and 1/8 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper.
- Mix everything well with a whisk or blend until smooth.
- Slowly add 1/4 cup of good quality olive oil. If you're using a whisk, add the oil slowly while whisking. If using a blender or food processor, just add slowly while the machine is on high.
- Remove and put the dressing into jar with a tight fitting lid and refrigerate until ready to use. This dressing will stay fresh about 1 week refrigerated.
For the Grilled Romaine Salad
- Wash 1 cup of cherry tomatoes and cut them in half. Set aside.
- Wash the lettuce and dry it well.
- Remove any of the large outer leaves. Trim the bottom, but keep the entire head of lettuce together. For hearts of romaine, split the lettuce in half carefully, keeping the core attached to each half so the lettuce stays attached. If the head is large, split it in quarters carefully, keeping the root end secured.
- Brush or spray the lettuce generously with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper, both sides.
- Preheat the grill and treated with non-stick spray or oil to prevent sticking.
- Put the lettuce on direct flame, about 3 minutes per side. You want to be sure you're getting enough char on the lettuce leaves.
- Turn over and cook the other side as well.
To Serve
- Serve with dressing, cherry tomatoes. Top with extra grated Parmesan Cheese.
- Enjoy!
