Caesar salad on the grill

Caesar Salad on the Grill

Caesar salad is something I never, ever, ever get tired of – I make it all year long at home, I order it often when we go out, and I’ve even had leftovers for breakfast. 

And it’s all because of a restaurant owner in Tijuana, Mexico, by the name of Caesar Cardini. One hot July day in 1924, a customer asked for a salad. Caesar had run out of his usual ingredients, so he whipped up the now famous Caesar salad (without anchovies, by the way). 

It was a smash hit, to the point of the Hollywood crowd flocking to Caesar’s just to say they’d had it. Even Julia Child paid a visit once. And in the 1930s, a group of prominent French chefs declared the Caesar salad the finest food that had come out of the Americas in years.

It’s fantastic on the grill; slightly warm and tender, slightly crisp and crunchy, the cheese melted on top, the bright splash of lemon at the end..

Caesar Salad on the Grill

½ cup extra virgin olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons prepared brown mustard
1 ½ tablespoons A1 steak sauce
¼ teaspoon EACH salt and pepper
1 heart of romaine lettuce
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
½ lemon

Preheat grill to medium hot. In a medium bowl, whisk together olive oil, garlic, mustard, steak sauce and salt and pepper.

Slice the romaine in half, length-wise, leaving the stem intact. Brush the cut sides generously with the dressing. Grill cut-side down two minutes. Turn, sprinkle Parmesan all over, close lid and grill 30 seconds more. Finish with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice and serve immediately. Serves 2.

Robin Benzle

Robin Benzle lives in Bay Village. For more recipes, visit www.robinbenzle.com.

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Volume 3, Issue 10, Posted 9:16 PM, 05.17.2011