I’d seen grilled romaine hearts on a few menus over the years and never ordered it as I thought it was odd to have warm lettuce. Then I finally tried it and realized that I’d been missing something.

Romaine hearts are the center leaves of a head of romaine lettuce. They tend to be sweeter and more tender than what you’d get from a full head of romaine. It’s what you find a good Ceasar salad.

You’ll want to cut the romaine hearts in half lengthwise. Do not cut off the bottoms as that’s what will hold the leaves together – simply cut from top to bottom. We made the mistake of cutting off the bottoms once – it’s not the end of the world, but it doesn’t grill up as nicely. The lettuce doesn’t spend too long on the grill but during its time there it gets a bit of grill flavor and wilts a bit but still stays crunchy.

I wanted the lettuce to stand out, so I dressed it with a simple vinaigrette made with white balsamic vinegar (more subtle than traditional balsamic vinegar) and a quick rosemary-infused olive oil. The dressing was well received.

While I usually use feta or goat cheese on this salad, this time I made an exception and used a wonderful Brebis (French for ‘sheep’) cheese from Day Spring Farm in Coatesville, PA. It came to me by way of Growing Roots’ Farmers Market in Malvern, PA – my go-to farmers market. I was wandering around looking for cheese inspiration and tasted a sample and knew it would be a nice addition to a grilled romaine salad. Given its nice developed rind with a creamy inside, I cut it into small pieces as it wasn’t going to crumble like feta or goat cheese would.

This salad is great on its own as a side but you can also add grilled chicken or shrimp to make it a main course.

Grilled Romaine Hearts with Rosemary Vinaigrette

 

Grilled Romaine Hearts with Rosemary Vinaigrette
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Recipe type: Salad
Author:
Serves: 4
Ingredients
Dressing
  • 6 tablespoons olive oil
  • 4 sprigs of fresh rosemary
  • 2 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar
  • 1 small clove garlic, minced
  • 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
  • Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
Salad
  • 4 romaine hearts
  • 3 to 4 ounces goat cheese or feta (crumbled)
  • 2 teaspoons olive oil
  • Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
Instructions
  1. Heat oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Add rosemary sprigs and fry until crisp, about a minute. Transfer rosemary to paper towel to dry. Set rosemary olive oil aside.
  2. Whisk vinegar, garlic, mustard, salt and pepper in a small bowl or measuring cup.
  3. Add rosemary oil in a slow stream, whisking until emulsified (well blended). Crumble fried rosemary into dressing. Set aside.
  4. Preheat grill to medium.
  5. Cut each head of romaine into two pieces from top to bottom – do not remove bottoms of romaine or it will fall apart on the grill.
  6. Brush olive oil on both sides of romaine pieces. Sprinkle with sea salt and freshly ground pepper.
  7. Place romaine cut side down on grill. Grill for about 3 minutes. Flip and grill for an additional 2 minutes. Romaine should still be crispy.
  8. Transfer grilled romaine to serving plates. Sprinkle crumbled cheese over romaine and drizzle with dressing. You may have leftover dressing.
  9. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Notes
* You can add grilled chicken or shrimp to this salad to make it a main course. You may want to serve 1-1/2 heart per person rather than 1 heart per person for a side salad.
* Dressing can be made 24 hours in advance.