Recipe: Grilled Romaine and Charred Scallion Salad

I got the idea for this salad after visiting one of my close friends in Seattle, where we had brunch at a Basque restaurant called The Harvest Vine.  We sat at the bar and watched the chefs and line cooks prepare each dish to order.  There was a salad (which we, unfortunately, were too full to order by the same we saw it being made) which started with throwing a head of lettuce onto an open grill with a roaring hot fire.  The lettuce was charred, chopped up, and then tossed with some sort of a vinaigrette.

The memory of the grilled lettuce came back as I was rummaging through the refrigerator and came across some wilting heads of lettuce.  I also had a bag of green onions from Trader Joe's which was starting to wilt.  My new cast iron pan was sitting on the stove.  Voila - a grilled salad was born!

Ingredients:

• Two hearts of romaine (or lettuce of your choice), washed and dried (don't detach the leaves)
• 8-10 scallions, washed and dried (remove any parts which are yellowing or look inedible)
• 2 plus 2 teaspoons of safflower, canola, or grapeseed oil (something with a high smoke point, NOT olive oil)
• Juice of 1 lemon (about 3 tablespoons, depending on how juicy your lemon is)
• 3-6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 to 1 teaspoon kosher salt (I use Diamond brand)
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan

Special Supplies:

• Cast iron grill pan (or a regular 10" cast iron pan)

In a large bowl, toss the heads of lettuce and scallions with 2 teaspoons of safflower oil to coat.  Brush the pan with the remaining 2 teaspoons of oil and heat pan to high heat.  Once the pan starts to smoke, place lettuce on pan.  Char the lettuce in batches until outside leaves have dark brown edges and the stems of the inside leaves look translucent.  This should take around 5-10 minutes, depending on how hot your pan is and how big your heads of lettuce are.  Then char the scallions until the greens are wilted and have spots of dark brown and whites are bright white (this will be very quick compared to the lettuce, around 2-3 minutes).  You will want to turn the heads of lettuce as well as the scallions to try to cook each side as evenly as possible.  Remove from heat.  Chop off the ends of the heads of lettuce to separate the leaves; then chop lettuce and scallions into 1" lengths.  Place back in bowl.

In a separate bowl, whisk lemon juice, olive oil, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt.  For a classic vinaigrette ratio, use a 1:3 ratio of lemon juice:olive oil.  I prefer a tart vinaigrette, so I usually use a 1:1 or 1:2 ratio (or sometimes a 1:1.5 ratio to split the difference!).  Taste the vinaigrette and add additional salt 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon at a time to taste -- the salt is important to bring out the brightness of the lemon.

Toss lettuce and scallions with vinaigrette.  Toss with grated Parmesan.  Top with freshly ground black pepper.

Serves two as a side salad.  

NOTES:  If you are using iodized or table salt (e.g., Morton's brand), I would suggest starting with 1/4 teaspoon of salt rather than 1/2 teaspoon of salt; otherwise your vinaigrette may be too salty.  Re: Parmesan, I'm not terribly picky about having only freshly grated Parmesan (takes too long).  I usually pick up pre-grated Parmesan from Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, or an Italian market.  I encourage you to stay away from the stuff in the green cans -- nothing wrong with using it if that's all you have but it won't be nearly as flavorful.)