Charred Romaine Salad Recipes

CHARRED-ROMAINE SALAD

Steps:

• Place radishes and shallot in a small bowl. Bring 2/3 cups of water, 1/2 cup vinegar, the sugar, and 2 teaspoons salt to a boil in a small saucepan. Pour over radishes and shallot. Refrigerate.
• Meanwhile, whisk together buttermilk, sour cream, and remaining 2 tablespoons vinegar. Season with salt and pepper. Refrigerate while grilling romaine.
• Heat grill to medium-high. Brush romaine halves with oil, and season with salt and pepper. Grill, turning, until charred but still crisp, about 4 minutes per side. Cut each in half lengthwise. Drizzle dressing over romaine. Drain radish-shallot mixture. Scatter over romaine. Serve immediately.

GRILLED ROMAINE SALAD

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 225 degrees F (110 degrees C). Mix olive oil, white sugar, rosemary, thyme, salt, and pepper in a large resealable plastic bag. Place tomatoes in the bag, seal, and shake to coat. Arrange coated tomato halves cut side up on a baking sheet. Bake tomatoes 2 1/2 hours in the preheated oven. Remove from heat, and let cool.
• In a blender or food processor, finely chop the shallots. Add vinegar and brown sugar, and process until smooth. Slowly add 1 3/4 cups oil, processing frequently, so as to thicken the mixture.
• Preheat grill for high heat. Brush romaine hearts with 1 tablespoon olive oil, and season with salt and pepper.
• Place romaine hearts on the preheated grill. Cook 5 to 10 minutes, turning frequently, until slightly charred but not heated all the way through. Serve warm on salad plates surrounded by tomato pieces and drizzled with the shallot dressing.

CHARRED ROMAINE GREEK SALAD WITH QUINOA-CRUSTED FETA

Steps:

• For the vinaigrette:
• 1. In a medium bowl, stir together the olives, herbs, onion, vinegar, and oil. Set aside.
• For the feta:
• 2. Spread the quinoa flour out on a large plate. Beat the egg white in a small bowl. Combine the quinoa with the oregano and red pepper flakes and spread it out on a second large plate. Coat each slice of feta with quinoa flour, dip it in the egg white, and then coat it in the quinoa mixture, pressing down to adhere. Add enough oil to a large skillet to reach 1/2 inch/1.25 centimeters up the sides of the skillet. Heat the oil over medium-high heat until shimmering. Cook the feta until the quinoa is crisp and the cheese looks melted, about 2 minutes per side. With tongs or a spatula, carefully transfer the feta onto a cutting board. Cut each slice crosswise into roughly 1 inch/2.5-centimeter pieces.
• For the salad:
• 3. Adjust an oven rack to the uppermost position and set the broiler to high (don't adjust the rack if you have a broiler drawer). Remove and discard any of the lettuce's outermost leaves that are damaged. Cut each head in half lengthwise. Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with foil. Arrange the lettuce halves, cut side up, on the baking sheets. Season them with salt and pepper and drizzle them with olive oil. Turn them cut side down.
• 4. Broil one of the baking sheets of lettuce until it begins to char, 1 to 3 minutes. Remove it from the oven, turn the lettuce halves cut side up, and broil until charred, 1 to 3 minutes longer. Set the baking sheet on a cooling rack and repeat with the second tray.
• 5. Divide the lettuce among 8 plates. Top each lettuce half with a 1/4 cup of quinoa, roasted tomatoes, and cucumber slices. Stir the vinaigrette to recombine it and spoon some over each salad. Top with the feta and serve with pepperoncini and lemon wedges.