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.
Grilled romaine lettuce with creamy caper dressing
Ingredients
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
Nutrition
- 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.
Nathan
This is one of my favourites the grilled romaine is so nice and the dressing...love it.
Ali @ Home & Plate
I love lettuces grilled this way and this homemade dressing sounds wonderful. It's the best side dish to a make in the summer. Can't wait to try this one!
Dannii @ Hungry Healthy Happy
That dressing is everything! I am going to have to try this next time we have a BBQ.
Michele @ Flavor Mosaic
Grilled romaine is so delicious. Your recipe looks fabulous.
Jagruti
Grilled romaine , I never had this..I must try with vegetarian options 🙂
Inside the rustic kitchen
Yes you definitely should it's great!:)
Andrea @ Cooking with Mamma C
I love grilled romaine! It takes on a nice, smoky flavor. And you're right, it is really filling. I'm craving this now...