Ingredients
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1 Clove, chopped Garlic
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4 slices Crusty BreadWe used an olive bloomer but any nice bread will be fine
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2 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
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4 Slices Streaky Smokey Bacon
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4 halved Little Gem LettuceQuartered if too big
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To Serve Parmesan
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To Serve Caesar Salad DressingWe used Tesco Reduced Fat
Directions
This Grilled Caesar Salad is the perfect side dish for your BBQ. With the prospect of summer in lockdown, I know lots of us are BBQing a little more than we might have done. We are allowed to meet in small groups out of doors, so firing up the grill is the perfect way to socialise. We might be grilling so much that we might even get a little tired of sausages and burgers, or maybe we don’t have the time to cook a whole rack of ribs. So this Caesar Salad is a perfect side, or if you added a chicken breast would also make a beautiful, light BBQ lunch.
You can make it all on the grill but I cheated a little, opting to make the croutons in advance, in the oven. I was cooking chicken thighs in the Weber, so didn’t want to unnecessarily keep opening it up and dropping the temperature. For the croutons, you can use any sort of bread. We used the end of an olive bloomer, I’ve also done this with sour dough and one time, I even made croutons with bagels. Anything works, if it’s a little stale, that’s even better!
The bacon, I cooked on the grill for a few minutes and set aside. It sear and chars so quickly on the BBQ and picks up some of the flavour of the smoke as the fat drips onto the coals. The baby gem lettuce also works well. They’re small enough that you can just half or quarter them, meaning the leaves are all still together. The edges that are on the grill so crispy and crunchy but inside it stays fresh and vibrant.
The dressing is another cheat. In the summer, I eat a lot of salads for lunches and we make loads of different dressing. I love an oil and vinegar base for most of my dressings but for a Caesar salad , you need Caesar dressing. It’s a bit of a faff to start trying to make it from scratch, so go for it if you want and fair play to you, but you can pick up bottles which are decent for not a lot of money in the supermarket.
I hope you enjoy this summery Grilled Caesar Salad with BBQed lettuce, bacon and croutons. You’ll find the charred baby gem revolutionary if you haven’t cooked lettuce before. Enjoy!
Steps
1
Done
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Preheat your oven to 200 degrees (or set up your BBQ for indirect cooking). Chop your bread into little 2cm cubes. Mix the chopped garlic with the olive oil and rub all over the bread. Season with a little black pepper. Bake for 15-20 minutes, shaking half way through. |
2
Done
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On the BBQ, grill your streaky, smokey bacon until it's nice and crispy, and chop up. If you were serving this as a lunch, season a chicken breast and grill now. Slice it up finely and set aside until the end. |
3
Done
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4
Done
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