Grilled gem lettuce with pine nuts, crispy bacon and a caesar dressing
Grilled baby gem, have I gone mad?
You have to give this a try. Grilling adds flavour to your lettuce, softens the edges and warms it a little. Serve it with some pine nuts and crispy bacon bits for taste and texture and add a home made caesar dressing and you have something of beauty.
Cooking surfaces
BBQ Temperature
Ingredients
- 2 baby gem lettuces, halved or quatered
- 4 rashers of streaky dry cured smoky bacon (none of that supermarket rubbish pumped full of water)
- 2-3 tbsp pine nuts
For the dressing
- 6 tbsp mayonnaise
- Juice of 1/2 a lemon
- 2 anchovy fillets
- 50g grated parmesan cheese (finely grated)
- 1/2 clove garlic, crushed
Equipment
- Non stick pan – I use the amazing Tefal Ingenio stainless pans.
Method
To make the caesar dressing
- Chop your anchovy fillets finely and add to the mayonnaise.
- Add all the other ingredients and mix together.
To cook the gem lettuces, bacon and pine nuts
- Setup your Egg for a direct cook at 200°C with your cast iron searing grids.
- Add your frying pan to the Egg and add some olive oil and the bacon chunks. Let them cook for about 7 or 8 minutes.
- Halve your gem lettuces and drizzle with olive oil.
- Place them cut side down onto the cast iron grid. Griddle for about 4 or 5 minutes to add some colour.
- Add your pine nuts to the bacon.
- Turn your gem lettuces.
- Cook for a further 4-5 mins.
- Remove everything from the Egg.
- Drain the bacon and pine nuts.
- Serve the lettuces with the caesar dressing and top with the bacon and pine nuts.
Did this today for lunch but substituted cashews for pine nuts and used a cheap Ebay cast iron skillet that was originally bought for use as a drip pan.
Quick and easy to do, very tasty. Will be doing again