Grilled Romaine Salad with Blue Cheese
Recipe courtesy of Alex Guarnaschelli

Excellent recipe and very different due to the grilling. I thought the dressing a little heavy on the anchovies. Be sure to not add too much oil when grilling the romaine or the salad can be too oily. Just lightly brush the romaine with oil for grilling. Alex cooks only some of the romaine and chops a couple of other halves to add on top of those that are grilled. I prefer to just grill the romaine halves. I don't see the need to add other fresh salad on top of that which is grilled. Just be careful of the amount of oil used for grilling and don't overcook the romaine.

Dressing:
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon sherry vinegar (or red wine vinegar)
1 teaspoon capers
1 teaspoon kosher salt
6 cloves garlic, peeled
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon hot sauce, such as Tabasco
6 anchovy fillets and 1/2 teaspoon of their oil [use 4 fillets]
1/2 to 3/4 cup olive oil

Romaine:
3 romaine hearts, halved lengthwise, washed and dried
Olive oil, for tossing
Kosher salt
1 lemon, juiced
20 fresh basil leaves, washed and dried
1 cup crumbled blue cheese, for garnish

Preheat the grill to medium.

For the dressing: In a blender, combine the lemon juice, vinegar, capers, salt and garlic. Blend until smooth. Add the Worcestershire, hot sauce, anchovies and 1/2 cup of the olive oil and blend until smooth. Taste for seasoning. Add the remaining olive oil if needed. Set aside.

In a large bowl, toss 4 of the romaine halves in a little olive oil [brush lightly or the salad ends up too oily] and season them with salt. Put them in a single layer on the grill and cook for 3 minutes. Turn and cook on the other side for 3 additional minutes; the romaine should feel slightly warm and tender. Transfer the halves to a large platter. Spoon a little dressing on each.

On a flat surface, finely chop the rest of the romaine and add it to a medium bowl. Add the remaining vinaigrette, a touch of lemon juice and the basil leaves. Toss to coat the romaine.

Top the grilled romaine with some of the chopped, dressed romaine. Garnish with crumbled blue cheese and serve immediately.

4 to 6 servings