When I think of salads, I think of crisp, cool vegetables and lettuce. I don’t always think of cooking lettuce but the times I’ve tried it, I’ve realized how nice it can be. Cooking, particularly grilling lettuce seems to really bring out its sweetness and flavor. Romaine is a fairly hardy lettuce that can really stand up to the heat of the grill. It goes from being firm and crisp to tender and juicy in a matter of minutes. For this salad, I cut the romaine hearts in half lengthwise and generously brushed the cut sides with olive oil before grilling them for about 2-3 minutes until slightly wilted. After that, all they need is sea salt, fresh cracked pepper, a final drizzle of olive oil and a generous sprinkling of grated parmesan cheese. Serve warm.
Bon appétit!
DAFFODILS AT MATTHAEI BOTANICAL GARDENS, ANN ARBOR
Hot.Sour.Salty.Sweet. And Umami 
May 26, 2008 at '22:43'
Mmm. Grilled romaine is great. My mom boils green leaf lettuce for upset stomachs. And my youngest aunt uses lettuce as a vegetable in hu tieu.
May 27, 2008 at '5:10'
Perfect salad. I love cooked lettuce. I shared my place with a Hong Kong Chinese student once and she introduced me to it and showed me how lovely it can be.
May 27, 2008 at '8:06'
Interesting! I don’t generally think to cook lettuce either, although it’s not that uncommon in parts of Italy to grill things like escarole. And Greeks cook greens all the time! It looks great, and relatively simple to prepare.
May 27, 2008 at '9:14'
Beautiful! Does this mean you’ve donned your flip flops yet?!
May 27, 2008 at '9:16'
Dang, I must have motor coordination issues because I wasn’t done… I’ve never wilted lettuce except by accident – but grilling sounds really intriguing! Thanks for the idea b/c I have 4 full heads of romaine in my fridge now (okay, I got a little excited about being able to eat raw greens again). So when you’re done with your salad series, are you going to post big meaty slabs of meat recipes dripping with delicious fat? 🙂 hee hee.
May 27, 2008 at '11:45'
I tried grilling escarole once, but it didn’t work out as I wanted it to. Of course I ate it all, because I didn’t want Mo to tell me :” see! I told you it was a bad idea” 😉
Romaine would be better.
May 27, 2008 at '22:01'
Ehehe! I just made grilled salad pizza with romaine and parmesan. Great idea for a salad!
May 28, 2008 at '11:28'
This is so timely…I have a head of romaine which is getting down to the core and this would be the perfect way to use the rest of it up. I’ve had grilled romaine at a restaurant before and found it very tasty so I wouldn’t be in totally uncharted waters here. Thanks for the suggestion!
May 29, 2008 at '21:49'
This looks fantastic, Christine! Will definitely be adding this to our grill list!
May 30, 2008 at '20:47'
This grilled salad is the perfect summer BBQ dish. What a refreshing change from all the meat!
When you come over one day, I will make a personal request of this please! We’ll provide the ingredients, you just do the lettuce grilling!
June 3, 2008 at '11:44'
Daffodils are my favorite! I always love your pictures. They’re beautiful!
June 3, 2008 at '21:03'
WanderingChopsticks – I like cooked lettuce in noodle soups too. I used to make instant ramen with cooked lettuce – so good!
VeganYumGanga – Yeah, you’re right, it’s really good.
FearlessKitchen – I like grilled escarole and radicchio too – the grilling takes a bit of the bitter edge off them, I think.
Jen – haha:) I have donned teh flip flops! And it was glorious 🙂 Yes, indeed, I will celebrate the fitter, healthier me with some serious slabs of meat – one of your recipes, of course.
Warda – oh, too bad your escarole didn’t turn out. We’ll have to try it again sometime.
Helen – your pizza sounds great. I love the idea of using this for that.
Sarah- Oh thanks – I’m sure yours will turn out great as well.
Denise and Lenny – Oh thanks!
WORC – You’re on, sistah 🙂
Cookiejarconfessions – Thanks! I love daffodils too – although Pierre says the correct name is jonquille 🙂
June 3, 2008 at '21:40'
Great photos of AA! Sweetwaters, gallup park, the arb brings back great memories of my years in undergrad and medical school. Found your link via wandering chopsticks…and glad I did! Great photos!
June 4, 2008 at '5:31'
I ended up making grilled romaine last night but instead of doing it on our grill outside, I did it under my oven’s broiler. It was pouring rain and I didn’t want to be outside. I did everything else the same, however– cutting the heart in half, coating it with olive oil, salt & pepper, and then I let it sit under the broiler for a couple of minutes. I added the parmesan cheese, and it was great. Even my husband liked it!
June 4, 2008 at '6:12'
I roast every other vegetable but for some reason, never even considered heating up romaine! Wow, I have a romaine heart in the fridge right now and it is earmarked for the grill. Thanks much!