Photo from The Wind Attack Blog (This is very close to what my lettuce looked like.

When the subject of lettuce is brought up, the thought of a boring iceberg salad may come to mind. Mostly water, lettuce is often thought of as a filler or complement to a dish. It’s time to move away from those thoughts. Lets take a second look at these once wild weeds cultivated to the underrated green cultivated by the Egyptians. Lettuce varieties are often used in a paleo diet as a wrap. For instance, taco shells on a taco tuesday night can be replaced with a hearty leaf of Romaine. Don’t want a bun with your pork sliders? Try a raw leaf of butter lettuce. Need to spice up your salads? Try adding watercress or arugula. Think you can only eat lettuce cold? Have you ever tried grilling your lettuces? No? Neither have I! I decided to try the recipes below. And honestly, I was so wrapped up in how to do this properly I completely forgot to take pictures. I used a cast iron pan to grill it, but results would be much better on an open gas or charcoal grill.

GRILLED ROMAINE HEARTS WITH AVOCADO LIME DRESSING

2 romaine hearts, washed, trimmed, and sliced in half

1 clove of garlic, chopped up

2 tablespoons olive oil

a pinch of salt and pepper

Avocado Lime Dressing

1 ripe avocado

1/3 cup fresh lime juice

2 tablespoons rice vinegar

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 clove garlic, chopped all small

½ teaspoon agave or honey (Optional)

1/4 teaspoon cumin

1/4 cup water

salt to taste

For the dressing, put all the ingredients in a small food processor or blender and combine until creamy. Add the pinch of sea salt and mix it in. If it looks way too thick, add more water until it looks like salad dressing. Pour it all into a small container and refrigerate until the lettuce is ready. To grill the romaine hearts, heat the grill to a medium-low heat. While the grill heats up, mix the garlic, olive oil and salt and pepper in a little cup.  Brush or spoon the oil mixture to the cut side of the lettuce, very lightly. Place the lettuce face down on the grill for 60 seconds or until there are clear grill marks and the leaves are beginning to wilt. Flip the hearts over and grill the other side for another 60 seconds. You want the leaves to look charred but not limp. When they look good, put them on a plate and put some dressing over the hearts. Top with sliced green onions, chopped cilantro, and plenty of black pepper. Enough for 4 people with some extra dressing

Recipe from GQ Online.

There are a lot of ways to eat your leafy greens. Try some new recipes out!

07.07.13 REST DAY