I’m not averse to revisiting the classics, but they have to be the right kind of retro. Updating dishes by getting all molecular is not my vibe, a sly twist or unusual cooking method is usually all it needs to make it phenomenal. Here’s a surprising way to treat lettuce. Fire up your barbecue and grill crisp lettuce such as cos, romaine or gem, to add another dimension to a classic dish such as caesar salad. The lettuce takes on smoky notes while retaining its juicy freshness. Eating lettuce this way is addictive — trust me, you’ll be trying to find ways to incorporate this into your cooking at every opportunity.
Ingredients
| 2 slices | Bread, stale |
| 1 dash | Olive oil, for toasting bread |
| 2 | Baby cos lettuce (Main) |
| 1 drizzle | Canola oil, for grilling lettuce |
| 2 | Eggs, hard boiled (Main) |
| 8 slices | Pancetta, baked until crisp |
| 40 g | Parmesan cheese, shaved |
| 4 | White anchovies |
Caesar ranch dressing
| ½ cup | Mayonnaise |
| ¼ cup | Sour cream |
| 1 Tbsp | Milk |
| 3 Tbsp | Parmesan cheese, finely grated |
| 3 | Anchovies (Main) |
| 1 tsp | Worcestershire sauce |
| ½ small | Lemons |
Directions
- Cut the bread into cubes, place in a small baking dish, toss in some olive oil and season lightly. Bake at 180C until crisp.
- Heat a barbecue or grill pan until hot.
- Halve the baby cos lettuce lengthways and brush with a little canola oil. Season well with sea salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper.
- Grill the cos, cut side down, for about 1 minute. You want it to retain a lot of its texture but impart some smoky flavour. Allow to cool slightly on your serving platter.
- Spoon some caesar dressing over each cos half.
- Grate over the hard-boiled eggs, and crumble over the toasted bread, crisp pancetta and parmesan shavings.
- Break up 1 white anchovy over each cos half and check seasoning
Caesar ranch dressing
- In a small food processor or using a wand blender, combine all ingredients until smooth.
- Add a little sea salt flakes if needed. Store in the fridge in an airtight container.
Kyle Street, executive chef atDepot Eatery & Oyster BarandFederal Delicatessen, is an avid lover of street food. He takes a playful approach to cooking — for him it is all about provenance, big flavours and, most importantly, respecting his ingredients.
