Grilled Hearts of Romaine with a Homemade Vinaigrette and Gourmet Cheese...

Summer is finally here!!!!! Therefore it is time to light the BBQ, call out your friends for a dinner party and make a new summery yet trendy dish.
This is the easiest salad to make and will make your guests say "YUMMMM!"
My grandma was the first to tell me about this recipe and I have since then tweaked it to be my own recipe....hope you and your friends enjoy!

Grilled Hearts of Romaine with a homemade Vinairette and Gourmet Cheese

Homemade Vinaigrette

Romaine cut in half and ready to be brushed with Olive Oil

The grill is hot and the Romaine ready to be chared

Place the Romaine cut-side down on the hot grill

You want the golden brown color and just some char to the leaves

Grill for 1 min then turn at a 45 degree angle for beautiful grill marks

ENJOYYYYY!

Grilled Hearts of Romaine 

with a Homemade Vinaigrette and Gourmet Cheese

Author: Brenna Bowers

Makes: 4-6 servings

Ingredients:

3 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil (or any oil will work), divided

1 Tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice

1 small clove garlic, minced

½ teaspoon Dijon (or grainy mustard)

1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire

2 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1 Tablespoon honey

¼ teaspoon pepper

1/8 teaspoon Italian seasonings

Dash of salt

2 or 3 Whole heads of Romaine Lettuce

1/8 cup toasted walnuts, roughly chopped

3 Tablespoons Gourmet Cheese (crumbled Parmesan, Feta, Blue cheese, or Goat Cheese)

Directions:

Dressing:

In a small bowl, whisk 2 Tablespoons of Extra Virgin Olive Oil, fresh lemon juice, garlic, Dijon (Tip 1), Worcestershire, balsamic vinegar, honey, pepper, Italian seasonings and salt. Set aside or chill.

Hearts of Romain Lettuce:

Wash the heads of Romaine lettuce and pat it dry with paper towels. Remove any wilted outer leaves if necessary. With a sharp knife, slice each Romaine heart in half length-wise.
Brush or drizzle the cut-side up Romaine hearts with the reserved 1 Tablespoon of olive oil.

Assembly:

Heat up the grill/BBQ to very high heat. When you place your hand over the heat, it should be too hot to leave your hand there for more than 2-3 seconds. Place each of the Romaine hearts cut-side down for about 2 minutes; or until grill marks appear and you have charred the edges. Immediately remove the lettuce from the heat and set aside. So serve, place the Romaine hearts on each plate and drizzle with the homemade dressing, crumbled cheese and toasted nuts.

Tip 1: Dijon is added to the dressing not just for flavor but because mustard helps act as an emulsifier. Now less shaking is required for your dressing and it will be less separated.