Smoky grilled romaine and radicchio salad, with parmesan and tomato

I’m hanging out with my in-laws in Phoenix, and one of the things they like to do for dinner is grill steaks. I love my in-laws and appreciate how much time they put into planning our meals here. But the steak-eating gene skipped me. No me enloquece, you know? (It doesn’t drive me crazy.) What does drive me crazy is salad. It drives my sister-in-law crazy, too. She’s a vegetarian.

She and I are both here in Phoenix this week, which has been a blessing. When the parents decided to do steaks, we whipped up this salad: grilled romaine and radicchio with cherry tomatoes, parmesan slices and avocado, with a tart citrus vinaigrette. She’s a bread fiend, so we added homemade croutons, too.

When it came time to eat, I served myself a piece of steak and promptly forgot about it. Instead I kept piling more salad onto my plate. Two servings… three… I think I might’ve gone for four. Grilling the lettuce gave it this faint smoky flavor, which matched perfectly with the avocado and the sweet-tart dressing. And the croutons — crispy on the outside and softer in the middle. Dude. They were gems.

The next morning I ate the salad for breakfast, even though it had already been dressed and was a teensy bit soggy. It was so good that I took out my new computer and decided I had to tell you about it now, instead of waiting until I got back from vacation.

Grilled romaine and radicchio salad, with parmesan and tomato
Serves about 8 as a side dish

Note: You may have a few extra croutons left over. I’ve used them to make a breakfast scramble/strata type-thing, by soaking them first in egg for five minutes, and then cooking them in a little butter, sautéed onion and greens.

Also, we only used half of the radicchio mentioned in the recipe. The rest can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge and eaten as leftovers, with any leftover dressing.

Ingredients

1 boule or a chunk of fresh bread of your choice, sliced into cubes (about 2 1/2 to 3 cups’ worth)
1 head romaine, cut in half
1 small- to medium-sized head radicchio, cut in half
1 avocado, cut into thin slices
1/2 package cherry tomatoes (about 1 cup)
Thinly sliced parmesan to taste

Dressing
Taken from this Food Network recipe, with a few tweaks

1 garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoon lemon zest
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 tablespoons white wine vinegar
2/3 cup olive oil
Dollop of honey

Directions

Place the bread cubes in a bowl and drizzle with olive oil and salt. Mix together with your hands until the cubes are evenly coated. Place on a baking sheet and bake for about 15 to 20 minutes at 375F, until the tips look golden brown. (They won’t turn an even golden brown because we’re not using enough oil — which is fine, they’ll still taste great, I promise.)

While the bread cubes cook, warm the grill or grill pan. Lightly brush the romaine and radicchio with olive oil. Place the lettuce cut-side down on the grill and cook for about five minutes, until the lettuce is partially charred on one side and slightly wilted, but not completely falling apart. Remove and slice with a sharp knife.

In a serving bowl, combine lettuce, croutons, avocado tomato and parmesan. Mix together salad dressing in an airtight jar, saving the olive oil for the end and shaking vigorously. Drizzle dressing over the salad and serve.