Ridiculously Easy Grilled Romaine Salad
I was really touched by all the wonderful comments and emails you sent on the 3rd anniversary of this blog, but I want to apologize to everyone who thought I was leading up to a goodbye. Believe me, I haven't even thought of quitting. You're stuck with me!Call me picky but I just don't like romaine lettuce. Something about its crunchiness (I like iceberg even less) and bitter taste just turns me off. I'll use it in a salad if I can hide it among a lot of loose salad greens and spinach, but I just can't eat it on its own. Or at least I couldn't, until I tried it cooked.
Yes, cooked. Grilled, to be specific. I got this great idea from Ellie Krieger's The Food You Crave; in her recipe, the romaine is cooked on the barbecue grill, but since it's January and I didn't want to wait until summer to give it a try, I decided to see how it would taste grilled on a George Foreman grill. Truth be told, I don't use my new removable plate grill as often as I should, so I've been looking for things to cook on it. As it turns out, it worked perfectly. Two halves of a romaine heart (the inside core of the head, often sold in packs of three) fit easily into the grill, bases placed at opposite ends. After just a few minutes of grilling, the romaine began to wilt and brown slightly and was done. I dressed each head simply with white balsamic vinegar and pepper, and added a sprinkling of sunflower seeds to accentuate the nuttiness that grilling brings out. It's a simple preparation that's made a romaine believer out of me. Plus, it's a great way to enjoy a green salad on a cold day when the thought of iceberg just makes you go, "Brrrrr."
Grilled Romaine Salad
(printer-friendly version)
1 heart of romaine lettuce (about 170 grams)
1 teaspoon white balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon sunflower seeds
freshly ground black pepper
Cut the romaine heart in half lengthwise. Trim the stem end a little, if you wish, but be sure not to cut too much--all the leaves need to stay attached.
Heat your George Foreman grill or a stove-top grill pan. Spray it lightly with olive oil, if necessary. (You know your grill--if you think it might stick, give it a quick spray.) Once it's hot, put one romaine half on it, two if they will fit. Close the top of the Foreman grill or press the lettuce down lightly with a spatula if you are using a grill pan. Cook for about 2 or 3 minutes, until lettuce has begun to wilt and grill marks to appear; then turn over and grill for another 2 minutes.
Place on two plates, cut side up, and sprinkle each with 1/2 teaspoon vinegar, 1/2 teaspoon sunflower seeds, and freshly ground black pepper to taste. Serve while still warm.
Serves 2. Per serving: 20 Calories (kcal); 1g Total Fat; (33% calories from fat); 2g Protein; 2g Carbohydrate; 0mg Cholesterol; 6mg Sodium; 2g Fiber. Weight Watchers 0 Point.
Labels: CORE, eat to live, gluten-free, higher-fat, Ridiculously Easy
posted by SusanV at 3:46 PM
54 Comments:
Wow--I never would have thought to grill lettuce! I love romaine just about any way...I will have to try this! Except, I don't have a grill! Hmm...maybe broiled romaine?!
Well, it looks great, and I am glad you found a way you like to eat romaine!
Courtney
You have solved my problem! Our CSA has been sending at least 2 sorts of lettuce every week, and we're not that into cold salads in the winter. Thank you!!!
You should try radicchio this way too!
Wow, simple and nice.
Must try this!
I can't believe it will not turn bitter?
It looks delicious and I will definitely try it! And it's simple, too!
Most of the bitterness in Romaine is in the stem end. If you cut out as much of the core as you can without having the half head fall apart, it will be less bitter.
Also, I think the calorie count is a little low. A half-head of romaine is probably closer to 55 calories.
I'm with you on the lettuce taste. Romaine is too bitter, and iceberg has no nutritional content whatsoecer. We've banned them from our house, especially iceberg.
My family is pretty picky about lettuce, so I'm not sure if I could get wilted lettuce onto the menu, but its good to know that there are other ways to eat lettuce, just incase I need that info....
Anonymous, the recipe is for a heart of romaine, not a whole head, so the calorie count is accurate. I actually weighed it myself and took the calories from the weight.
Interesting way to eat lettuce. Looks like I will have to try this next time I get the grill going!
So simple, yet so good. Thanks!
Nice! I now have the perfect excuse to borrow my sister's Foreman grill :)
oh my gosh I never even thought to grill lettuce. I also never thought I'd look at a picture of it and think, "mmmm that looks good."
This vegetable is delicious when stir fry with tomatoes and dried shrimmps. Give it a try!
I've never had grilled lettuce before, but I bet it would be a really tasty addition to a salad.
I LOVE grilled lettuce, too bad it's so cold outside! I guess I'll have to fire up the cast iron!
Huh...I guess I never really thought of this, but it looks so delicious!
What an interesting idea!
Susan, I think you should name all of your recipes "Ridiculously Easy This" and "Ridiculously Easy That." It's so appealing!
I just cleaned and de-cored the last of my romaine, darn it, but will snatch up one of those 3-packs the next time I hit the grocery!
~Jain
I find the whole idea of grilling lettuce intriguing. I might just have to haul the grill out of the cupboard and give this a try, it looks wonderful!
Sounds simple and perfect!!
This looks great. I cook lettuce quite often - recipes like this are a great way to use up lettuce that comes out of our garden that is a little too old for a salad. Long live hot lettuce I say! :)
This reminds me of a holiday party my student group (American-born linguistics majors) did with the univ. group of Taiwanese students for American Thanksgiving. One of the American linguists brought an enormous romaine-based salad in and my Taiwanese friends were horrified: how could you eat something like that raw, especially in winter, especially as part of what they thought was the most culturally important American meal? NOT cooking it was the absurdity.
I remember seeing stir-fried romaine included in an old, poorly translated Chinese vegetarian cookbook that I picked up used many years ago, and reading about how it was necessary to take the edge off, so to speak, and that was my first attempt at cooked romaine (with surprisingly happy results).
Now it's *really* spread around the western veg*n community =)
I'm going to cook this for my girlfriend tonight. Thanks, Susan!
wonderful recipe!!! I'll definitely try it...
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Grilled romaine ... What don't you think of?! It looks yummy!
Another interesting idea to stretch my culinary mind. I think that's what I like the best about being vegan -- I get to enjoy wonderful foods in new ways that I otherwise might have not discovered if I ate meat, dairy and eggs.
But that's not the reason I'm writing -- I would like to know if you have any plans to come out with a cookbook any time soon? Then I could keep cooking even if my internet connection goes out ;) Thanks for all your wonderful recipes.
Sometimes the simplest things can be the most delicious. I will definitely do this.
You learn something new every day. I didn't think I'd ever seen romaine lettuce here, but thanks to wikipedia I now know it's what I call cos lettuce. I'll be trying this very soon.
That looks phenomenal. I have tried grilled romaine before and it was an unexpected delight. I put some "Parmesan" on mine and a little olive oil. That would probably defeat the fat free idea, but it is worth a try every once in a while. Looks great!
Susan,
Thank you so much for a great idea for using my G.F. grill! My parents gave me one back in my omni days, and aside from the occasional grilled zucchini or portabello mushroom, I haven't found too many vegan uses for it. I can't wait to try this one out!
Susan,
This looks delicious! I've seen the recipe in Ellie Krieger's book but never got around to making it. This is going on my list!
Thanks!
Sylvia
That looks so simple and delicious.
I don't like romaine either but I discovered grilling it a couple of summers ago. Grilling totally changes the taste and texture somehow and makes it really delicious.
I've seen people do this before on TV, and I have always wanted to try it since. You picture looks very apetizing for something so simple. I think I just might have to try this, but try it with toasted pumpkin seeds instead.
looks like a winner, it'll be a nice change from eating regular salads.
Thanks for adding me to the veg search :)
Thanks for this recipe, my dad and I are always looking for more things to grill :)
Hi Susan,
I love raw romaine for the very resaons you (and the Taiwanese students another poster just mentioned, evidently) don't--but I would love it cooked this way, too, and will have to fight with myself now about which way I am going to eat the next package of romaine hearts!!
Thanks for the recipe!
moonwatcher
I want this!..looks so comforting, specially if you're having a cold sore throat as I am ;-(
thanks for sharing this recipe with us!
besos
heidi leon
aromasysabores
I made this last night, cheating on the fat free aspect by spraying it with olive oil and garnishing with a little shredded parmesan. It was just ok. My able-to-eat-anything 16 y.o. son helpfully commented, "I'm not going to eat that because it smells like it will make me throw up." Nice.
But then, I like romaine raw. Huh.
I just watched Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall grill lettuce last night. I never watch him, as he is such a meaty chef, but someone told me he does good veggies, so I decided I would watch it on replay and fast forward through the horrible bits and there he was grilling lettuce (I think he used baby gem). What a coincidence, I would never have thought of it and here a few hours later is another great recipe. I will be waiting for barbeque season with anticipation now :)
I'll pull out my underused G.F. grill soon to try this. May I ask a trivial question? In my constant effort to be "correct".... how do you pronounce "vegan"? I mostly hear vee-gan, but the dictionary and some people say "veg(as in beg). This is my biggest delima so far today. Aren't I lucky!!
Donna
I don't like raw romaines either. I sometimes use romaines in soups and that's how I can eat them. But grilled romaine! Must try that! They do look tasty!
Interesting how so many people think Romaine is bitter. All the Romaine I've ever had doesn't have much of any taste whatsoever (like iceberg) but simply provides a pleasant crunchy salad base - I can't stand limp salads. This is an interesting idea, we'll have to try it! We certainly have the supplies for it. Romaine must be in season; we are getting about 2 heads per week in our local farm box.
A grill? Endorsed by a big boxer with 7 loose screws from getting hit in during a fight ? Essentially for frying up meat? Imported from America? NO way, Jose.
My dad never learned his way around a kitchen much: that was my mother's job. My brothers have carried on that trait: they rely on me to do the non-meat cooking when I visit Maine and Ontario. They are omnivores (although I can disturb my Christian brother's stomach with too many chilies, to my delight.)
Keep the darn grill. I'm still working on the Moin Moin. Got the slurry done, bought ramekin equivalents, but I am darned if I am buying a double-wide steamer, or something I'll trip over in my back yard! And I like crispy romaine, wilted spinach, rocket in judicious quantities, lamb, argula..., but I can't hold with these darn Brits who don't like a dressed raw salad.White vinegar derived from balsam and extra-virgin/green olive oil are a dynamite combo, with fresh herbs plucked from wild bushes originally bought to make hedges (rosemary & dill especially)and tossed in fresh plucked to the dressing that gets tossed about 15 minutes before consumption.
Just a comment on the grill. I recently borrowed it from my mother, and I got a little obsessed with making waffles.
I wrote a post about it, but the recipe is so full of Earth Balance...
Anonymous, thank you for asking how to pronounce "vegan." This is so important because I still hear non-vegans pronounce it wrong, even after I've pronounced it correctly. The correct, "official" way to pronounce it is VEE (rhymes with bee) -gan. The last syllable varies a little, with some people saying VEE-gun, others VEE-gn or VEE-gin, but according to both the American and UK Vegan Societies, the first syllable is pronounced VEE, not VAY or VEJ.
Wow, what a perfect snack. Very delightful! :)
Another good veg to grill is baby bok choy. It's got a delicious, slightly nutty taste to it.
Just made this with strawberries and dark balsamic reduction. LOVE the recipe. http://purplesque.vox.com/library/post/just-had-to-post-this.html
I LOVE grilled romaine!! My brother recently had a chef cater a barbque but since I was the only vegan he had him make me special vegan dishes just for me. The first thing he gave me was the grilled romaine lettuce. It was the best thing I had all night. Who knew grilled romaine lettuce tasted so good.
This looks good, but Ill bet if the romaine was red chard it would be DELICIOUS! I dont like the flavor of romaine much, I like the crunch and grilling it would ruin that. I like the idea behind it though...
This looks simple AND delicious!
Amazing and innovative find! Also great with some hot and sweet mustard, salt and pepper on top!
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