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Garden Bite Grilled Lettuce 7-5-18
I would venture to guess that many of you are taking some time off during this holiday week. Maybe a “Staycation”, perhaps some grilling out involved? In my new Northern Gardener magazine, there’s an article on grilling lettuce! This subject has come up a few time this season. So, I’ll share what I’ve learned. Apparently it tastes REALLY good!
Grilled Romaine lettuce in particular. The author of “Grill Your Veggies”, Elizabeth Millard, says that the crisp leaves and sturdy stalk of romaine make it perfect for the grill. Wash the bunch and dry thoroughly. Leave the leaves attached to the base, this holds the lettuce together on the grill. Cut the romaine in half or in quarters. When oiling, you can rub the oil into the leaves to help char them more evenly.
For June, she was throwing radishes, asparagus and green onion on the grill.
Cut the pieces into similar sizes, pretty much the same as you would do for roasting, so they cook more evenly. You want to grill the largest amount of surface so cut the pieces to allow for that. That means cutting carrots, potatoes and the like at a diagonal. Peppers and carrots will also be delish coming up later in July.
Invest in steel kabob skewers. While you can certainly grill veggies in foil, Elizabeth says you lose some flavor that way. Toss your vegetables in oil before grilling. A little goes a long way. Too much and you’ll cause fire flare-ups. Lightly season after lightly oiling. Here is where you can play with your own tastes.
Season to taste and throw it on a pre-heated medium heat grill. Then stay there, lettuce grills up fast. About a minute per side.
Grilled butter lettuce with buttermilk-chive dressing
Grilled lettuce with creme fraiche
There are TONS of sites that offer information on how to grill various veggies. I can’t wait to try this!
I want to plug again my favorite gardening magazine for those of us in colder climates. Northern Gardener gets it! No, I’m not being paid to share that with you!
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