Grilled Caesar Salad

My friend Anna made this salad over the weekend and then sent me an email right after saying I had to make it. This girl never steers me in the wrong direction. Honestly I don't know how I ever lived before this salad!! Ok... I'm being a little dramatic, but it is a really great Caesar recipe!

Caesar Dressing: Makes roughly 1 1/2 cups
4 garlic cloves
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons capers
1 tablespoon caper brine
1 tablespoon powdered mustard
1/3 cup raw sunflower seeds
1/3 cup slivered almonds
3 tablespoons nutrional yeast
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Salad:
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 romaine lettuce hearts, cut lengthwise
1 cup garlic croutons (optional)
1/4 cup parsley, chopped (for garnish)
1 cup Caesar dressing

In a food processor combine all the dressing ingredients except the olive oil in a food processor or blender on high until well mixed. With the machine running slowly drizzle in the olive oil until the dressing is blended and creamy. Spoon into a bowl and refrigerate for 40 minutes to allow flavors to come together. Place back in the food processor and reprocess, adding up to a 1/4 cup of water if necessary until desired consistency.

Preheat the grill or grill pan over medium-high heat. Drizzle the romaine hearts with olive oil (on the cut side) then place the cut side down on the grill/grill pan for about 30 seconds, just long enough to leave grill marks. Then, with cut side up, grill the lettuce for another 45 seconds.

Although it's beautiful arranging the hearts on a platter and drizzling them with dressing, parsley, and croutons- it's not all that practical in my opinion. So I chopped up my grilled romaine hearts and threw them in a salad bowl along with some dressing, parsley and the croutons, I gave it a good toss and served it. You can freeze the extra dressing, I'm sure it would be great on a roasted veggie sandwich, or of course on another salad.

Recipe by Daphne Oz