Grilled Romaine Salad with Pancetta, Pine Nuts and Pecorino

Overhead photo of grilled romaine salad topped with pancetta, pecorino and pine nuts

Grilled Romaine Salad with Pancetta, Pine Nuts and Pecorino

This grilled romaine salad has amazing flavors of pancetta, pecorino and pine nuts with a lemony dressing. It may look really fancy, but it's so easy to make!

Course Salad

Cuisine Italian

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 20

Servings people

Calories 514kcal

Author Pina Bresciani

Ingredients

2 romaine hearts cut in half vertically
1 tablespoon lemon juice
½ lemon zested
3 tablespoon olive oil plus more for drizzling
½ cup pancetta cubed
1 tablespoon pine nuts
2 tablespoon pecorino shaved
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Prepare the romaine hearts

Remove the outer leaves, especially if they seem old or damaged. Trim the top of the romaine heart.
Shave off the browned part of the root end, but don't remove it completely - this is what will keep the romaine heart intact when cut and grilled.
With a large knife, cut the romaine heart vertically (through the root end).

Cook the pancetta

Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a pan over medium-low heat. Add the pancetta.
Cook the pancetta for about 10 minutes, until it is crispy and the fat has rendered. Remove the pancetta from the pan, place on a plate lined with paper towel. Reserve the rendered pancetta fat.

Make the dressing

In a bowl, add 2 tablespoon olive oil, lemon juice, lemon zest, rendered pancetta fat (about 1 tbsp), and salt and pepper. Whisk with a fork.

Grill the romaine

Drizzle olive oil on to romaine hearts, season with salt and pepper. Be light on the salt because the pancetta and pecorino are already salty. Grill romaine hearts on medium-high heat on both sides in a grill pan or BBQ.
Place romaine hearts face side up on a plate - top with dressing, crispy pancetta, pecorino and pine nuts.

Notes

Grill both sides of the lettuce so all sides get that beautiful caramelization and smoky flavor
You can substitute parmigiano reggiano shavings for the pecorino
The pecorino and pancetta are already very salty, so be light on the salt on the rest of this dish
Using other lettuces: romaine is ideal for grilling because it's a sturdy lettuce that keeps its shape. I wouldn't recommend grilling other lettuces because they tend to be softer and wouldn't stand up to grilling very well.

Nutrition