I know, I know. It’s almost November. Shhh! Don’t tell that to our new grill.

Now that our wedding season is finally slowing down, Tim and I are taking advantage of all the summer grilling that we missed out on. We have a fancy-pants new grill (it’s WAY better than our old one – the handle would come off every time you opened it, the grill rack would rock precariously every time you set anything on it, and there were only a few remaining hot-spots over which you could actually cook food.) We are pretty stoked about this new grill so we are hereby extending grilling season into the fall!

Over the summer we stayed with Tim’s brother and our sister-in-law in Chicago and they made us some ridiculously delicious food (they always do!) including a grilled salad. You guys. Grilled salad. You have to try it. I needed to try it myself, and that’s why I made this recipe!

You don’t actually grill the lettuce long enough to “cook” it, only long enough to get some good grill marks on the leaves which give it a delicious smoky flavor. You can get romaine hearts at the grocery store and cut them down the middle, keeping the center root-end intact as it will hold all those pretty leaves together. Brush each half with a little olive oil, add some salt and pepper if you like, and grill just long enough to get a good char on the leaves. Chop up the leaves and toss with any dressing! I made a Greek dressing for this recipe, but you can easily adapt this technique to suit your flavor preferences.

Grilled Greek Salad

Asharae Kroll

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Servings 2 -4

Ingredients

  

For the Dressing

• Juice of 1 lemon
• 1 clove of garlic minced
• Kosher salt and pepper
• 1/4 c olive oil

For the Salad

• 2 hearts of romaine
• 1 Tbs olive oil
• Cherry tomatoes halved
• Pitted Kalamata olives I like to halve these just to make sure no pits are still hiding inside
• Cucumber halved lengthwise and cut into pieces
• Feta cheese
• Dried oregano

Instructions

 

• Whisk together the lemon juice, garlic, salt, and pepper. Slowly drizzle in the olive oil, whisking constantly. Set aside.
• Peel off any dirty outer leaves from each of your romaine hearts. Cut each one down the middle. I find it's easiest to cut down the middle of the stem first, then cut through all the leaves. Some leaves may fall out - that's okay! Save them for later and you can toss them back into your salad right before serving. (Rinse the leaves if you like and drain cut-side-down on a paper towel. Pat dry before continuing.)
• Preheat the grill to medium high. Place hearts of romaine, cut side up, on a plate or rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle with 1 Tbs olive oil. Grill for just a couple minutes, or until leaves are slightly charred. You're not trying to cook the lettuce, just give it some color and smoky flavor.
• To serve, place one romaine heart half on a plate, cut side up. Drizzle with dressing, top with cherry tomatoes, Kalamata olives, cucumber, and feta. Sprinkle with dried oregano and extra salt and pepper if desired.

Notes

Serve half a head of romaine per person as a side dish, or a whole head of romaine as the main course.

You could serve topped with roasted or grilled chicken to make this salad more filling.