Make that salad spectacular with grilled lettuce

GRILLED CASEAR SALAD WITH GRILLED CROUTONS

Makes 4 servings.

Croutons:

• 8 slices crusty bread, sliced thick

• Extra-virgin olive oil, for brushing

• Salt AND pepper, to taste

Salad:

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

• 2 hearts of romaine lettuce, cut in half lengthwise

• Salt AND pepper, to taste

• Caesar salad dressing (either homemade or purchased)*

• ¾ cup shredded good-quality Parmesan cheese

• Anchovies (optional)

When it comes to grilling, there are many delicious possibilities. From the unusual, such as peach halves, pizza dough, even sliced pound cake, to summer standards such as barbecued chicken, strip steaks or hot dogs, investing in a quality outdoor grill can become your ticket to creating exciting, seasonally inspired cuisine.

While it's often easy to go straight for those fallback recipes when firing up the grill (you know those go-to ones you make every year that are safe and predictable), I propose that this summer it's time to step outside of the proverbial cooking box.

Take lettuce, for example. It's easy to peg this underrated vegetable as nothing more than an addition to a basic tossed salad or a nice topping for a roast turkey sandwich. However, lettuce, like many farm-fresh vegetables, offers far more versatility than you might realize, especially when it meets up with an outdoor fire.

Ditching the salad bowl in favor of the outdoor grilling area can elevate a basic Caesar salad into something truly exceptional with minimal effort. All you need is olive oil, a package of romaine hearts and a hot grill, and you can create an expertly charred grilled salad that is jam-packed with flavor.

A classic Caesar typically boasts bite-size pieces of raw romaine lightly tossed in a garlic-and-anchovy-infused dressing accented with fresh Parmesan and crunchy croutons. As one of the more popular salads on any given restaurant's menu, the Caesar salad has made its mark as a first and a main-course option (especially when topped with grilled chicken or shrimp).

Although this crowd-pleasing combination is tasty in its own right, grilling the lettuce not only changes the dynamic of this piquant dish but also transforms its taste. Cold, crunchy lettuce is replaced with a toasty smokiness that is a perfect match for the pungency of the garlic and anchovies, while the nuttiness of the Parmesan cheese blends seamlessly into the entire mix.

To pull off this salad the right way, you need to invest in quality ingredients. This means real Parmigiano Reggiano shaved fresh off the block versus the pre-shredded kind in the container, which tends to lack in flavor. It also means using a good-quality extra-virgin olive oil for brushing the lettuce leaves. Finally, incorporating a great Caesar dressing, either one from scratch or purchased in the bottle, will seal the deal.

Take the Caesar salad to another level by substituting boquerones in place of regular canned anchovies. Boquerones are white anchovies that are marinated in a vinegar/olive oil mixture and, while still plenty pungent, tend to be less salty than their canned counterparts. You can find these little gems at many international markets and some seafood stores.

Regarding method, grilling lettuce is simple. A medium-high heated grill should suffice (I wouldn't go any higher than that). Be sure to watch the leaves carefully because they can char quickly. In fact, light charring at the edges of the leaves is perfectly acceptable, so leave them on the grill long enough for this to occur. Just be careful not to overcook to the point where the romaine becomes overly wilted. You still want your salad to retain a certain crunch once it's plated.

Kendra Bailey Morris is a Richmond-based food writer, culinary instructor and author of "White Trash Gatherings: From-Scratch Cooking for Down-Home Entertaining" (Ten Speed Press). Send ideas, tips or culinary questions to info@theaccidentalchef.net or visit www.theaccidentalchef.net.