Last week I decided to try a grilled romaine hearts salad. I’ve had grilled romaine hearts previously at a wonderful restaurant in Monterey, CA, but had never considered making it myself. I came across a post on the Grilling Fools blog and decided to give it a try. I am sure glad I did.  I purchased a three pack of hearts of romaine, so I actually had this twice in 3 days. Sadly, I did not use the third heart before it went bad.  This is one of the downsides of grilling for one, and I am still learning to find ways to use everything or find opportunities to buy in smaller quantities.

The first step was to cut the heart of romaine in half lengthwise. I then brushed them with olive oil and sprinkled with salt and pepper.

Next I placed the romaine hearts on my Weber Smokey Joe Gold Charcoal Grill. I turned the hearts three times, cooking for about 3-5 minutes on each side until they just started to char.

When they came off the grill I sprinkled them with grated romano cheese.  I had these with butternut squash soup and I must say the grilled romaine hearts were absolutely delicious.  The smokey flavor is completely unexpected in a salad, but tastes amazing.  They were so good, I made them again a few days later and I am planning on making them for my family next time I am home.

Grilled Romaine Hearts with Butternut Squash Soup