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.
📖 Full Recipe
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...