Grilled Romaine Salad

I know it might sound strange to grill lettuce, but let me tell you, this is a great way to shake it up a bit. We eat a lot of salad in our house so having something different like a grilled salad keeps things interesting.
Plus anytime I can cook an entire meal on the grill I am happy. It keeps the kitchen clean and there are no pots and pans to wash. 

Get all your ingredients ready.  Once the lettuce goes on the grill you have to be ready to assemble in a quick second. 

Ingredients: 
2 heads of romaine 
4 strips of bacon 
2 ounces blue cheese 
2 small tomatoes
2 tbsp bacon drippings
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar 
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce  
2 tbsp olive oil
Freshly ground pepper 

Wash, dry and crisp up the lettuce. Cut each head in half, wash very carefully so it does not fall apart. It must remain in tact to put on the grill. Drain it well.  Wrap it in paper towels then put into a plastic bag and place in the refrig for a few hours to crisp up. 

Cook the bacon.  Cut raw bacon into small strips then saute until brown and crisp.  Drain the bacon on a paper towel until ready to use. Retain 2 tbsp of bacon drippings. 

Make the dressing. Whisk together the bacon drippings, balsamic, W sauce, olive oil, and pepper. 

Cut up the blue cheese and dice the tomatoes. 

Put the romaine on the the grill and cook for approximately 2 minutes per side. You want a slight char and some grill marks but you don't want to cook it until it all starts to wilt. It should have some crunch left to it. 

Place romaine on a platter, drizzle with dressing, top with blue cheese and tomatoes. Serve immediately. 

Serves 4.  

Chickpea Flatbread

This was my first time cooking with chickpea flour and I have to say I was pleasantly surprised.   I'm always looking for gluten free recipes, and recipes that I can eat similar to bread, since I can't eat bread anymore.  This recipe seemed promising so I thought I'd give it a try. 

About chickpea flour:  It is low in saturated fat, cholesterol and sodium.  It is a good source of dietary fiber, magnesium, copper, folate, and manganese. It is also a low glycemic food and therefore I would recommend this product to my diabetic clients. 

This recipe makes 6 pieces and you can use a 11 x 7 inch baking dish or a baking sheet pan.  Its nice if you cook it up thin so it's not too heavy. I like to top it with tomatoes that I normally make for brushetta, but use your imagination.  I also roasted some asparagus one night and put that on top. I've also done a pan of caramelized onions then added that to the pan prior to cooking so it cooks up in the flat bread. 

If I serve this as a meal I serve two pieces along with a salad. If I serve them as appetizers for a dinner party I serve one piece per person.  If it's cocktails I cut them into much smaller pieces and serve as finger food.  You can easily double this recipe and bake it on a baking sheet pan.  You would increase the temp to 450 and cook for 35 to 40 minutes. 

This takes a little advance planning as it has to sit for at least 2 hours before baking.   I prefer to allow it to sit for 6 hours or even overnight. I think it enhances the flavor. 

Ingredients: 
1 1/2 cups chickpea flour 
3 cups warm water 
1 tbsp sea salt 
Freshly ground black pepper
2 tbsp finely chopped rosemary
1/4 cup olive oil  

Pour the water into a large bowl.  Slowly whisk in the chickpea flour, salt and pepper.  Let stand at room temp for 2 hours.  

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  

Stir in the rosemary and olive oil. 

Brush a sheet pan with olive oil then pour the batter into the pan.  It should be solid when done and slightly brown. 

Bake 40 minutes.  

Cut into 6 pieces.

Tomato topping:  Cut up two tomatoes into small dice and put into a bowl.  Add 2 to 3 cloves of minced garlic, salt and pepper, a tbsp or more or chopped basil, and two tbsp olive oil.  Allow to sit for at least 30 minutes for the flavors to develop.  

Another topping I would recommend would be grilled veggies. 

You could also other items prior to cooking:
caramelized onions
bacon
prosciutto
additional herbs
garlic 
cheese, pecorino, Parmesan etc. 
greens like escarole 

As you can see there are lots of things you can do with this recipe.