DRESSING Hail, grilled Caesar!
The smoky char of the grill brings a whole new dimension t o plain old Caesar salad. To develop g o o d c h a r a n d mai n - tain crisp lettuce without ending up with scorched, wilted, even slimy leaves, we used sturdy, compact r omaine hearts, which withstood the heat of the grill better t han whole heads.
Halving them lengthwise and grilling on just one side gave them plenty of surface area for charring without turning limp. A hot fire meant that the heat didn't have time to penetrate and wilt the crunchy inner leaves before the exterior developed grill marks.
Our boldly seasoned Caesar dressing replaced the raw egg with mayonnaise. It was so good that we got the idea to brush it on the cut side of the uncooked lettuce instead of olive oil, allowing the dressing to pick up a mildly smoky flavor on the grill along with the lettuce.
For the croutons, we brushed baguette slices with olive oil, toasted them over the coals, and then rubbed them with a garlic clove. We combined the lettuce and croutons, drizzled on extra dressing, dusted everything with Parmesan, and called tasters. The salad disappeared.
With apologies to Shakespeare: It's not that we love Caesar less, but that we love grilled Caesar more.
GRILLED CAESAR SALAD
Servings: 6 Start to finish: • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard • 2 anchovy fillets, rinsed • teaspoon salt
• teaspoon pepper
• cup extra-virgin olive oil
SALAD
30 minutes • 1 (12 inch) baguette, sliced inch thick on bias • 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 garlic clove, peeled
• 3 romaine lettuce hearts (18 ounces), halved lengthwise through cores
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
For the dressing: Combine lemon juice and garlic in bowl and let stand for 10 minutes. Process lemon-garlic mixture, mayonnaise, Parmesan, vinegar, Worcestershire, mustard, anchovies, salt and pepper in blender until smooth, about 30 seconds. With blender running, slowly add oil until incorporated. Measure out and reserve 6 tablespoons dressing for brushing romaine.
For a charcoal grill: Open bottom vent completely. Light large chimney starter filled with charcoal briquettes (6 quarts). When top coals are partially covered with ash, pour evenly over half of grill. Set cooking grate in place, cover and open lid vent completely. Heat grill until hot, about 5 minutes.
For a gas grill: Turn all burners to high, cover and heat grill until hot, about 15 minutes. Leave all burners on high.
For the salad: Clean and oil cooking grate. Brush bread with oil and grill (over coals if using charcoal), uncovered, until browned, about 1 minute per side. Transfer to serving platter and rub with garlic clove. Brush cut sides of lettuce with half of reserved dressing. Place half of lettuce, cut side down, on grill (over coals if using charcoal). Grill, uncovered, until lightly charred, 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer to platter with bread. Repeat with