Grilling lettuce is counterintuitive but, trust us, it’s delicious!
PrintGrilled Little Gems Salad
- Prep Time: 15
- Cook Time: 10
- Total Time: 25
Ingredients
Scale
- 2–4 heads little gems
- 4 hard boiled eggs, peeled and cut into quarters (optional)
- 4 slices of bacon (or more, if you love bacon!)
- 1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes, washed and halved
- 1 avocado, pitted and sliced into wedges
- 1/4 cup good olive oil + extra for the lettuces
- 1–2 tbsp red wine, cider, or other vinegar (balsamic would not be good here)
- 1 tsp dijon mustard
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Cook the bacon in a hot pan until crisp. Reserve the bacon fat for the vinaigrette, if you’d like. Strain through a mesh strainer before using. Chop the bacon into large pieces and set aside.
- To make the vinaigrette, put the dijon mustard in the bottom of a boil and add the vinegar and salt and pepper. Then, whisk in either the 1/4 cup olive oil, or the bacon fat, if you’re feeling adventurous. Add salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.
- Cut each lettuce in half and inspect the inside; if there are specks of dirt, run the cut lettuce under water, or soak it for a few minutes in cold water to release the dirt. Allow to dry. Tear away any wilted outer leaves. Heat a grill pan and brush the cut sides of the lettuce with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and grill cut side down until slightly wilted, and grill marks appear, between 4-5 minutes. Remove the lettuce and turn off the grill pan.
- Arrange lettuces on four plates, and add cherry tomatoes, bacon, avocado, eggs (if using), and blue cheese. Drizzle generously with vinaigrette and serve.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 4