Grilled Caesar Salad – Easy Recipe
One of the best parts of any BBQ event is the sides that come along with the meats. The most popular trend in the grilling world these days is to use citrus flavorings and vegetables in your dishes. Lots of people these days are falling in line with the healthier eating trend, so diversity on the grill is a great thing to learn.
Sometimes, the only time that people will willingly eat vegetables, especially a salad, is to have them presented in a unique way, and this is definitely one of the more interesting, most delicious and flavorful grilled salads out there.
Grilled Caesar Salad Ingredients
For the Grilled Lemon Caesar Salad Dressing you will need:
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Toppings can be whatever you want, as this is a very versatile type of food to prepare, especially when most people who attend a BBQ are not expecting to see anything different from the normal fare. A few that are really delicious with this salad are:
These are just a few ideas that can make your grilled Romaine Caesar Salad even better, but with a few simple steps, you can present a meal straight from the grill that will make everyone wonder where you have been taking grilling lessons.
To get started, you will want to preheat your grill, letting one side get much hotter than the other. The best way to achieve this is to rake the coals or wood chips to one side of the grill. (This will allow the greens to stay as in tact as possible when they are cooking and will keep the bread from scorching).
Drizzle some olive oil over the tops of your bread. Next, place the Romaine hearts and lemons directly no the grill next to the bread, leaving each approximately 2 minutes on each side. Lemons should be grilled to a charred perfection as well without burning them for optimal taste. Remember, grilling any type of fruit will bring out a new side of its flavor.
Once the bread has achieved a nice golden brown toast color, remove it from the grill. Be very careful to keep an eye on the romaine so that it chars but doesn't burn.
Arrange your proteins on top of the romaine and drizzle with your homemade Grilled Lemon Caesar dressing. To make the flavor pop even more, use a bit of dill on the Romaine after drizzling it with olive oil.
To grill the chicken
Be sure that your grill is evenly heated for this part of the cooking process. You can simply spread the coal out more in the bottom of the grill to even out the level of heat. Next, turn up the heat to a medium heat now so that your chicken will cook evenly and still be juicy.
Coat the grill plate in olive oil and be sure that any excess char from previous grilling is scraped off with a grill brush before you begin to grill the chicken for this dish.
Place chicken onto the grill in a single layer and baste with olive oil and garlic. Squeezing lemon onto the meat will enhance its flavor if you like that coupled with Caesar dressing. You can add more herbs and spices such as cumin, thyme, if you desire them, as each person has their own taste preference.
Just remember to keep in mind that not everything goes well with Caesar dressing! Grill the chicken until the juices coming out of it are clear, so about 10-12 minutes on each side over medium flame.
To make the dressing
This recipe makes 1 cup of dressing, so you can tailor the ingredients for the amount you need. Place the anchovies, Parmesan cheese, salt, pepper, and garlic into the food processor and run it until it turns into a thick paste.
Gradually add the lemon juice, egg yolks, olive oil, and Dijon mustard and pulse your food processor until all of the ingredients are completely mixed together to your liking. Once you have reached a consistency that you like, set the dressing aside.
Lay the romaine and bread side by side on a plate or in a bowl, put your grilled chicken across the bread after carefully cutting it into thin slices and set on top of the grilled lettuce and drizzle the entire thing with about 2 tbsp of dressing. This will taste like something you have never tried before and it is one of the tastiest dishes that you will ever have from the grill.
For your next grilling venture, try something new. A grilled Romaine Caesar salad may just be what you need to compliment a nice, big, juicy steak or even some tofu fresh out of the smoker. This is the perfect dish, whether you choose to eat it as a meal or as a side item.
Remember this easy and delicious recipe the next time you have a gathering or a backyard BBQ event, and you will become the talk of all your friends' conversations when planning new events.
Grilled Caesar Salad Recipe
Ingredients
- 2
Hearts of romaine lettuce, sliced longways in half - 2
Whole lemons, sliced in halves - A baguette or bread of your choosing
- Extra virgin olive oil
- At least 1 chicken breast for each person
- Whatever garnish you want to accent the chicken with
- 2
Anchovies - 1/2
tsp
Kosher salt - 1/2
tsp
Coarsely ground pepper - 3
tbsp
Grated Romano or Parmesean cheese - 1/4
cup
grilled lemon juice ( it usually takes 1-2 lemons for this) - 2
Egg yolks - 1/2
tsp
Dijon mustard - 1/2
cup
Extra virgin olive oil - Cherry tomatoes (also great on the grill!)
- Shredded Parmesan or Romano cheese
- Crispy bacon or pancetta
- Grilled chicken breast strips
- Pretty much anything can be added to this salad to make it pop!
- Fire-roasted corn
- Feta cheese (added after grilling)
- Crispy fried onions
Instructions
- To get started, you will want to preheat your grill, letting one side get much hotter than the other.
- The best way to achieve this is to rake the coals or wood chips to one side of the grill.
- Drizzle some olive oil over the tops of your bread.
- Next, place the Romaine hearts and lemons directly no the grill next to the bread, leaving each approximately 2 minutes on each side.
- Lemons should be grilled to a charred perfection as well without burning them for optimal taste.
- Remember, grilling any type of fruit will bring out a new side of its flavor.
- Once the bread has achieved a nice golden brown toast color, remove it from the grill.
- Be very careful to keep an eye on the romaine so that it chars but doesn't burn.
- Arrange your proteins on top of the romaine and drizzle with your homemade Grilled Lemon Caesar dressing.
- To make the flavor pop even more, use a bit of dill on the Romaine after drizzling it with olive oil.
- You can simply spread the coal out more in the bottom of the grill to even out the level of heat.
- Next, turn up the heat to a medium heat now so that your chicken will cook evenly and still be juicy.
- Coat the grill plate in olive oil and be sure that any excess char from previous grilling is scraped off with a grill brush before you begin to grill the chicken for this dish.
- Place chicken onto the grill in a single layer and baste with olive oil and garlic.
- Squeezing lemon onto the meat will enhance its flavor if you like that coupled with Caesar dressing.
- You can add more herbs and spices such as cumin, thyme, if you desire them, as each person has their own taste preference.
- Just remember to keep in mind that not everything goes well with Caesar dressing!
- Grill the chicken until the juices coming out of it are clear, so about 10-12 minutes on each side over medium flame.
- This recipe makes 1 cup of dressing, so you can tailor the ingredients for the amount you need.
- Place the anchovies, Parmesan cheese, salt, pepper, and garlic into the food processor and run it until it turns into a thick paste.
- Gradually add the lemon juice, egg yolks, olive oil, and Dijon mustard and pulse your food processor until all of the ingredients are completely mixed together to your liking.
- Once you have reached a consistency that you like, set the dressing aside.
- Lay the romaine and bread side by side on a plate or in a bowl, put your grilled chicken across the bread after carefully cutting it into thin slices and set on top of the grilled lettuce and drizzle the entire thing with about 2 tbsp of dressing.
- This will taste like something you have never tried before and it is one of the tastiest dishes that you will ever have from the grill.
- A grilled Romaine Caesar salad may just be what you need to compliment a nice, big, juicy steak or even some tofu fresh out of the smoker.
