Grilling romaine lettuce is easy to do and tastes incredible with some fresh tomatoes, basil, and a drizzle of balsamic vinegar.
We took the kiddos to their first official amusement park over spring break to Legoland. Basically we blew their little Lego-loving minds!
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While we were down in Southern California we spent a few days with some good friends, friends who have been highly neglecting their grill (I’m talking to you, Kokoa!). We weren’t having any of this, and decided to show them some easy ways to smoke food even in simplest of grills, like this one. It also got us thinking about a new video series for beginners on how to smoke food when you don’t have a smoker. Keep an eye out for that!
Can we actually smoke food on this tiny, neglected, grill? Challenge accepted!
We showed them how to set up their kettle grill for smoking and cooked up one of our favorite foolproof recipes — smoked tri-tip. In addition we came up with this great side to pair – this Grilled Romaine Salad with Tomatoes and Basil.
The idea behind this was to do a play on a traditional bruschetta with tomatoes and basil, but this would be a more low carb version. Not that we’re switching to low carb around here. Believe me there were plenty of carbs behind the scene of this meal. Instead, we were just hoping to have something fresh and salad-like to accompany our tri-tip.
This was perfect.
The topping can be made quickly by tossing together some fresh diced tomatoes, garlic, basil, olive oil, and salt and pepper.
The Romaine
For grilling it’s important to choose a sturdy green like romaine because it can handle the heat without falling apart.
Simply prep it by cutting your romaine heart in half lengthwise, then drizzling it with some olive oil, salt and pepper.
Grill both sides on high heat for just a couple minutes each side.
While the lettuce is grilling place a couple of lemons (cut in half) also on the grill to heat up. You’ll use these to squeeze over the finished salad. They also just friggin’ rock!
Remove the lettuce from the grill and top with your tomato mix, and finish with some fresh squeezed grilled lemon and a drizzle of aged balsamic vinegar.
If you’re serving this as a meal then plan on one half romaine heart per person (pictured below left). Or if you’re feeding a crowd and there are other vegetable options then just cut each half into smaller portions and guests can take as much or as little as they’d like (pictured to the right).
That’s it. Seriously. It’s that easy. And incredibly delicious.
- 2 romaine hearts halved lengthwise
- Extra virgin olive oil for brushing
- Salt and Pepper about ½ teaspoon each per half
- 2 lemons halved
- 2 large beefsteak tomatoes Roma tomatoes work well too, but use 4-5 if using Roma, diced
- 2 cloves of garlic finely diced
- 3 tablespoons basil sliced thinly
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- ½ tablespoon aged balsamic
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- A pinch of fresh ground pepper less than ¼ teaspoon
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Rinse and dry the romaine (it is important for the lettuce to be fully dry before you grill otherwise it may steam).
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Brush both sides of romaine with olive oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
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Set grill to direct heat.
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Grill the romaine hearts on each side until lightly browned on both sides (about 2 minutes each side).
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While the romaine is grilling place the lemon halves on the grill about 4 minutes (until you see grill marks).
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Remove from heat, and top with the tomato basil mixture and a squeeze of fresh grilled lemon and a drizzle of aged balsamic.
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Place together tomatoes, garlic, basil, olive oil, balsamic, salt and pepper, into a bowl and toss together.
Have you made a grilled salad before? What’s your favorite method?
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This sounds so easy, healthy and delicious! I’m starting to collect grilling recipes for the summer and am adding this to the list!
Awesome! It’s all three of those things; easy, healthy, and very delicious!
This has me SO excited for summer! Grilled romaine may be half of my diet come June.
You have no idea how ready and excited I am for summer! This winter has nearly tortured me. Bring on some sunshine and warm temps!
Look at you – Even working while you’re supposed to be on vacation!!! This looks absolutely fabulous and the perfect way to break in my grill for Spring!
If we see a grill, especially a neglected one, we have to cook on it and give it some love 😉
That all looks so fun!! I’ve *never* tried grilled lettuce but if you say it’s good, I love the idea!! I don’t like cold food making my hot food too cold so this would be a great base for other grilled food!
If you wanted to skip the cold toppings, grilled romaine is also excellent with a warm dressing on it as well. You can just heat up your favorite dressing and drizzle it over. Also think about it with some warm blue or goats cheese! Mmmmmm.
After having grilled romaine, regular romaine just doesn’t cut it for me anymore… I’ll still eat it with Caeser, but wish it was a grilled salad instead and think about how much less dressing I would use because it would have so much more flavor
I’m with you exactly! The flavor of grilled is fantastic, and yes it provides it’s own profile of flavors, making you need less dressing than you would if you just chopped up some cold romaine and tossed it with a dressing.
We’ve only recently discovered the wonders of grilled romaine – it’s so good! I love the simplicity of this salad, too.
Oooh I love grilled romaine!! And with a tomato basil topping? Sounds like summer!
It felt like summer in Southern California too. I’m sooooo ready for some nice weather here in Portland!!!