Grilled cos caesar

Tam West

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

1. Cut the bread into cubes, place in a small baking dish, toss in some olive oil and season lightly. Bake at 180C until crisp.
2. Heat a barbecue or grill pan until hot.
3. Halve the baby cos lettuce lengthways and brush with a little canola oil. Season well with sea salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper.
4. 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.
5. Spoon some caesar dressing over each cos half.
6. Grate over the hard-boiled eggs, and crumble over the toasted bread, crisp pancetta and parmesan shavings.
7. Break up 1 white anchovy over each cos half and check seasoning

Caesar ranch dressing

1. In a small food processor or using a wand blender, combine all ingredients until smooth.
2. 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.