Grilled romaine lettuce with creamy caper dressing

Grilled romaine lettuce with a creamy caper dressing. A simply stunning, light dish packed full of delicious flavours. Charred lettuce, smoky, salty pancetta (bacon) and a tangy creamy dressing. Perfect for lunch or dinner.

I absolutely LOVE grilled romaine lettuce. It's something you'd never really assume would work but it does and it's exceptionally good! It gives the romaine lettuce a totally different flavour making it charred, smokey and utterly delicious.

I know it sounds kinda strange to grill lettuce of any form and I have to admit when I first heard of grilled romaine lettuce I did think, what? But after trying it I couldn't stop eating it, lunch and dinner you can dress it how you like in individual portions or cut up into a big salad bowl.

You'd be surprised how filling it can be too, half a romaine lettuce is perfect for one serving as a main course. Just lather it in a beautiful creamy dressing and you're good to go. I decided to make a creamy caper dressing which I really love. I use this dressing over chicken when I make a caesar salad, it's so delicious and tangy and goes great with shaved Parmesan on top.

The smoky, salty pancetta scattered on top of this salad recipe gives it a lovely texture and flavour, I mean anything with crispy bacon pieces on top is gonna be good, right? Is it time to eat yet? I'm hungry.

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5 from 1 vote

Grilled romaine lettuce with creamy caper dressing

Grilled romaine lettuce with a creamy caper dressing. A simply stunning, light dish packed full of delicious flavours. Charred lettuce, smoky, salty pancetta (bacon) and a tangy creamy dressing. Perfect for lunch or dinner.

Course lunch

Cuisine Italian

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 5 minutes minutes

Total Time 15 minutes minutes

Servings 4 people

Calories 220kcal

Author Emily Kemp

Ingredients

• ▢ 2 Large Romaine lettuces
• ▢ 5.2 oz (150g) smoked cubed pancetta
• ▢ Parmesan to shave on top
• ▢ 1 tablespoon olive oil

for the dressing

• ▢ 2 tablespoon capers
• ▢ 3 salted anchovies
• ▢ 4 baby gherkins
• ▢ 2 heaped tablespoon good quality mayonnaise
• ▢ 2 heaped tablespoon sour cream
• ▢ 1 garlic clove
• ▢ 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• ▢ squeeze lemon
• ▢ pepper to season

Instructions

• Finely chop the capers, anchovies and gherkins and place in a bowl. Add the mayonnaise, mustard, lemon juice and sour cream and mix until all combined together. Sprinkle with pepper and set aside.
• In a small sauce pan fry the pancetta until crispy, set aside. Put a large griddle pan on a medium/high heat. Cut the romaine lettuces in half and brush the cut side with olive oil. Place cut side down on the griddle pan and grill for 1-2 minutes until charred. You'll probably need to do two at a time.
• Place on plates, drizzle with the dressing and scatter over the pancetta. Finish with shaved Parmesan and a sprinkle of pepper. Enjoy.

Notes

Please note this recipe was tested and developed using metric measurements all imperial measurements are approximate.

Nutrition

Calories: 220kcal

Helpful Info for All Recipes

• I always use extra virgin olive oil in all of my recipes unless stated otherwise
• When I use canned or jarred tomatoes of any kind I always use Cirio or Mutti brands for the best results and flavour.
• All vegetables are medium sized unless stated otherwise
• All recipes are tested and developed using a fan (convection) oven
• Find out more about how nutrition is calculated.
• Check out our must have Italian Pantry Staples.
• You can also find all our Essential Kitchen Tools for Italian Cooking.

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