A salad with some substance, and a good amount of crunch. If you can grill over wood, the salad will taste even better with a bit of smokiness. Be sure not to cook the squash and lettuce through. Your Little Gems just want some charring, and the squash wants only to be cooked until no longer raw and a bit charred outside. This salad could be a starter, part of a mezze/antipasti table, or buffed up with some other vegetables and some proteins to make for a light dinner.
INGREDIENTS:
2 heads Little Gem lettuces, stem trimmed but left intact, quartered, well washed and drained
4-5 cups summer squash; halve squash lengthwise, discard ends, and score the cut surface
½ bunch scallions, rootlets trimmed away, white and pale green parts separated from the greens, greens sliced diagonally into 1/8th-inch rings
1 large clove garlic, peeled
¼ to ½ cup oregano oil (See recipe on site)
1 lemon (Meyer preferred) or some good quality white or aged balsamic vinegar
Olive oil as needed
Salt and pepper to taste
-Optional-
½-cup Romano cheese cut into strips using a swivel-peeler, or several slices of fresh mozzarella or haloumi cheese cut into 1-inch pieces, or young parmesan freshly grated to taste
METHOD:
Get the grill quite hot. Scrape absolutely clean.While the grill heats, rub a non-reactive bowl with the garlic clove until you see oil tracks left in the bowl. Add a couple tablespoons olive oil and swirl it in the bowl so it gets the garlic flavor. Add the squash and scallion whites to the bowl and toss to thoroughly coat with olive oil. Allow to rest while the grill heats.
Put the scallion greens into a non-reactive bowl and add the scallion greens to it and then add the oregano oil. Stir to bruise the scallions so the flavor integrates with the oregano oil. Leave out so flavors meld.
When the grill is good and hot, add the oiled summer squash and grill until marks appear and the flat surface is golden and the outside of the squash gets little blisters and browns up The squash should be warm through, but still firm. Remove and keep warm. At the same time, pile the scallion whites in one spot and grill until well browned and almost burned in spots. Remove to a cutting board and chop with a very sharp knife into ¼-inch or smaller pieces. Drizzle with some of the scallion-oregano oil, toss to be sure to coat all over.
Cut the lemon in half through the equator and grill 5-7 minutes. Remove and reserve. Spray or rub olive oil in between the leaves of the quartered lettuces. Lightly rub the outside of the lettuces and grill just until the outside gets some charring, then either squeeze half the grilled lemon for juice onto the lettuce or drizzle with balsamic vinegar. Season with salt and pepper.
Cut the summer squash at a 45° angle, first left, then right, then left, etc. until all cut into triangles. Shoot for pieces 1¼-inches per side. Season with salt and pepper and toss into the bowl with the scallion whites and scallion- oregano oil and drizzle with a little more scallion-oregano oil and toss to mix. Either leave the lettuce quarters intact or chop them roughly and place on a platter or shallow bowl. Drizzle with oregano oil, a little salt and pepper and top with the squash and grilled scallions.
If using cheese; for haloumi, oil both sides and grill until golden. Otherwise, distribute cheese and serve warm, or at room temperature.
Chef’s Notes: You could add a ¼ cup or so of raw pine nuts and they would go well with the rest of the ingredients.
Serves: 4
Source: Chef Andrew E Cohen
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