Grilling Up a Hot Summer Salad

About author / Amy Powell

World traveler; gourmet 30 minute meals; lover of exotic ingredients; winner on FoodTV's Chefs vs City; graduate French Culinary Institute. Her recipes will tantalize your taste buds.

In the dead of summer, menu planning often revolves around two main elements: barbecue and salads. During the summer when we can’t stand the heat, we do what what we do to get out of the kitchen. We either take that heat outside for a barbecue, or we turn off the heat altogether for a summer salad. What we don’t often explore is how to meld those to cooking essentials, barbecues and salads, for an updated twist on two summer classics.

We don’t often think of using lettuce for grilling, but there is one kind in particular that lends itself perfectly to this technique: radicchio. This reddish purple lettuce grows in a globe of tightly packed leaves. It is noted for its bitterness and makes a regular appearance in salad mixes on store shelves and in restaurants, contributing its famous bite. Perhaps radicchio’s most well noted contribution is as one of the three main components of insalate tri colore, a salad made of radicchio, arugula, and endive.

In a raw salad, radicchio contributes a bitter note that contrasts with the sweetness of a balsamic vinegar or a ripe cherry tomato. But when radicchio is grilled, those bitter notes are off-set by a certain sweetness that emerges when those leaves char and wilt on the fire. In fact, the inherent bitter-sweet combo of the radicchio when it is grilled means the finished grilled radicchio salad might need little more of an accompaniment than a drizzle of fruity olive oil with some shavings of salty Parmigiano Reggiano. I like to make it a more complete side dish or starter course by grilling seasoned wedges of radicchio drizzled in olive oil and seasoned with salt and pepper until those wedges are wilted and charred on the outside (about 6-8 minutes on a medium hot flame).

I then remove the core and separate the leaves on a large platter. I drizzle the leaves with more olive oil and good balsamic vinegar. I then layer thinly sliced prosciutto and shaved Parmesan cheese on top for a memorable starter course or as a light summer meal.

Typically when I l think of “grilled salads”, my mind moves to strips of zucchini, summer squash, and eggplant, all cooked to the point of soggy no-return. The grill is a lovely way to enhance sweetness in vegetables through caramelization on the fire as well as imparting a distractive smoky taste. The problem lies in the too often over-cooking of these same veggies. Asparagus takes nicely to a little char but too much and you end up with a crusty stick with no substance. Summer squashes and eggplant also do nicely on the flame, but just a minute too much and the once distinct flavors all run into each other in a pile of mush.

One way to reap the benefits of grilled veggies without overdoing it is to grill only some of the parts that will end up in the final dish. Grill slices of country bread and spears of asparagus then cube the bread and cut the asparagus into bite-sized pieces. Toss those with bites of ripe heirloom tomatoes, cubed mozzarella and a warm vinaigrette for a different take on a panzanella salad.

Another way to practice moderation in grilling vegetable salads is to utilize the grill as a steamer in addition to its grilling capacity. Wrap corn in foil with butter and seasoning to mostly cook through then finish it off for a minute or two over direct flame just to impart those grill marks. Then slice off the kernels and toss them with fava (or lima beans) and minced red onion for nice salad side. Carrots, potatoes, and other root vegetables that require longer cooking also would benefit from a foil wrapping for most of the cooking before being finished off for not longer than a couple of minutes on the grill just to impart that hint of smoke and some nice grill marks.

Tossing those grilled root veggies together with some fresh herbs and perhaps shallot vinaigrette gives a classic winter vegetable salad a summer make-over. Steaming vegetables first then grilling keeps the moisture in while still giving it the distinctive grilled taste.

The grill and salads were made for hot weather. Taking vegetables, even lettuce, to the grill can give your summer salad a much needed make-over as well as expanding your use of fire on beyond the usual burgers and steaks. Out of the kitchen and into the great outdoors, a grilled salad will still keep you cool on through the waning dog days of summer.

Serves/Makes: 4

• 2 heads radicchio
• 1/4 cup olive oil, PLUS
• 3 tablespoons good olive oil
• salt and pepper
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 1/4 pound thinly sliced prosciutto
• 4 ounces Parmigiano Reggiano cheese or good Parmesan cheese