If you enjoy making different types of Caesar-style salad, I have one more to add to your repertoire. It’s unique in that the salad is not tossed and the lettuce is not chopped into bite-sized pieces.
Instead, heads of romaine lettuce are trimmed and then quartered lengthwise. The quartered pieces of romaine are then brushed lightly with olive oil and grilled a short while on a hot barbecue. Grilling the lettuce this way lightly chars it and gives it a pleasing smoky taste that works well with the other ingredients in the salad.
Once grilled, you make these main-course salads by setting two quartered pieces of grilled romaine on each of four dinner plates. The next step is to set some grilled prawns, grilled lemon slices, shaved or grated Parmesan cheese and some bruschetta, Italian-style garlic bread, on and around the lettuce.
To finish the salads, you drizzle them with a zesty, easy-to-make, caesar dressing, creating a very flavourful summer meal you could enjoy on your patio or deck, if you have one.
Grilled Romaine with Caesar Dressing, Bruschetta and Prawns
These main-course salads see grilled pieces of romaine tastily enhanced with such things as prawns, Parmesan cheese, garlicky bruschetta and homemade caesar dressing.
Preparation time: 45 minutes
Cooking time: three to five minutes
Makes: four servings
For the caesar dressing
2/3 cup mayonnaise
1 anchovy, minced, or 1 tsp anchovy paste
2 Tbsp lemon juice
2 Tbsp water
2 tsp Dijon mustard
2 tsp red wine vinegar
1 large garlic clove, minced
• splash or two Worcestershire and Tabasco sauce
• freshly ground black pepper, to taste
For the romaine and other salad ingredients
20 to 24 medium to large prawns, peeled with the tip of the tail left intact
2 Tbsp + 2 tsp extra virgin olive oil, plus some to taste
• Cajun spice, to taste (see Note)
2 medium heads romaine, loose outer leaves removed, tops and bottoms slightly trimmed, heads cut lengthwise into quarters
8 lemon slices
8 bruschetta (see recipe below)
• shaved or grated Parmesan cheese, to taste
Make caesar dressing by combining its ingredients in a small bowl. Cover and refrigerate dressing until needed.
Preheat a barbecue or indoor grill to medium-high. Place prawns in a shallow bowl, add the 2 Tbsp + 2 tsp olive oil, season with Cajun spice, and toss to combine.
Brush the cut sides of each quarter piece of romaine lightly with olive oil. Set romaine, cut-side-down on the grill and cook one to two minutes, or until lightly charred. Set two quartered pieced of romaine, grilled-side up, on each of four dinner plates.
Set the prawns, and the lemon slices, on the grill and cook 60 to 90 seconds per side, or until prawns are cooked and the lemon slices are lightly charred. Now set five or six prawns, two lemon slices and two pieces of bruschetta on each dinner plate with the romaine.
Drizzle the romaine with the caesar dressing, and then top with shaved or grated Parmesan cheese, to taste. Serve any dressing left in the bowl alongside the salads, for spooning on at the table.
Note: Cajun spice is sold in the bottled spice/herb aisle of most supermarkets. If you want to make your own Cajun spice, in a small jar, combine 2 tsp paprika, 1 tsp dried oregano, 1/2 tsp dried thyme, 1/2 tsp onion powder, 1/4 tsp garlic powder, 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper and 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper. Use what you need for the recipe and save the rest for another time.
Bruschetta
Grilled bread slices rubbed and flavoured with fresh garlic and extra virgin olive oil.
These bruschetta will act as the croutons for the salad recipe above.
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: two minutes
Makes: 8 bruschetta
8 (1/2-inch thick) pieces of baguette (see Note)
1 large garlic clove, cut in half lengthwise
• extra-virgin olive oil, to taste
Preheat a barbecue or indoor grill to medium-high. Grill bread about one minute per side, or until toasted and lightly charred. Set bread on a baking sheet. Rub one side of each bread slice with the half pieces of garlic. Now drizzle each bread slice, to taste, with olive oil.
Note: The pieces of baguette I used were about two inches wide and three inches long. You can make the bruschetta a few hours in advance. If you do, once drizzled with the oil, store them in an airtight container, so they don’t dry out before you serve them.
Eric Akis is the author of eight cookbooks. His columns appear in the Life section Wednesday and Sunday.
