Grilled Romaine Hearts and Asparagus with Lemon Caper Dressing

This warm salad is another version of a wilted salad...grilling the lettuce chars the edges, slightly wilting the leaves, and adding a smoky flavour. Unlike a wilted salad, the centre of the romaine heart is still crisp and cool, which is a nice contrast to the warm, softer outside leaves.

Leaving the core on the romaine heart helps to hold the leaves together while grilling. I served a whole romaine heart per person, as this centre part of the lettuce is not very large. Plate the lettuce with the cut side up, so that the drizzled dressing gets in between the leaves.

My goal with this meal was to make a lemon caper dressing, using up the half zested lemon and the last teaspoon of capers, and to use it on a salad with grilled chicken and asparagus. Goal accomplished!

To make the dressing, combine the following in a medium sized bowl:

1/2 shallot, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon honey
zest of half a lemon
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

Whisking constantly, slowly drizzle in:

1/2 cup olive o.il

As you whisk the oil into the rest of the ingredients it will start to emulsify, and you will have a chunky vinaigrette, thanks to the shallots.

Taste and adjust seasoning...pepper, lemon juice or honey. I added another 1/2 teaspoon of honey.

Whisk in:

1 teaspoon capers, drained and roughly chopped
1 teaspoon chopped fresh parsley
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan

Taste again, and now add salt if needed. I only added a small pinch as the capers and Parmesan added enough.




Set the dressing aside, if you will be continuing on and grilling the lettuce and asparagus right away. If the dressing was made well ahead of time, cover and refrigerate until needed.

Turn the grill on to heat. Before cooking the vegetables, lightly oil the cooking surface.

Cut the romaine hearts in half lengthwise, keeping the core in place to hold the leaves together.

Snap the asparagus spears to length.

Place both on a baking sheet, ready to grill.

Place the asparagus onto the hot grill first, as it takes slightly longer than the lettuce. When it is just about done, add the romaine.

Place the lettuce cut side down onto the hot grill, and leave until you have grill marks, and slightly charred outer edges on the leaves. This only takes a few seconds, so keep a close eye on it.

Remove the grilled romaine and asparagus from the barbecue, and serve immediately.








To serve, place 2 romaine heart halves on each plate, with the asparagus alongside. Drizzle with some of the lemon caper vinaigrette, and garnish with shaved Parmesan. Pass extra dressing at the table. I also served grilled chicken breast.

• This dressing is citrusy and tart, thanks to the lemon juice and capers. As mentioned above, I added a bit more honey to adjust it a bit more to our taste. 
• Vinegar can be used instead of, or for part of the lemon juice. Try red or white wine vinegar, apple cider vinegar or white balsamic vinegar.
• The dressing can be made in a blender...the shallots will be pureed along with everything else, so the chunky texture will change. If you want to use a blender, but keep the texture, leave them out and mix them in along woth the capers, parsley and Parmesan.
• Add an egg yolk into the dressing to achieve a creamy dressing.
• To stop your mixing bowl from spinning around while whisking the oil in, place it onto a damp towel or cloth.
• Other lettuces that will hold up to grilling are radicchio and Belgian endive.
• I had leftover dressing, and used it in an orzo salad the next night, along with grape tomatoes, red pepper, cucumber, olives and feta cheese. It could also be used as a marinade.
• The outside leaves from the romaine will be turned into Caesar salad tomorrow night.