Recipe

Grilled Romaine and Root Vegetable Salad

Turnips, carrots, leeks and radish going over open flame in a grill basket and a cast iron pan at the farm

Charred Little Gem hearts over roasted baby beets and carrots, on a smear of goat cheese.

Serves
4
Time
15 minutes prep, 20 minutes cook

Ingredients

  • 2 heads Little Gem or romaine hearts, halved lengthwise
  • 1 bunch baby beets and baby carrots, halved lengthwise
  • 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 1.5 tbsp fresh lemon juice
  • 2 oz goat cheese, chilled, or whipped with 1 tsp olive oil
  • 1/2 red onion, thinly sliced and quick-pickled in 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
  • Flaky Maldon sea salt and coarse black pepper

Method

  1. Roast the roots cut-side down. Toss the halved beets and carrots in olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast cut-side down on a bare rimmed baking sheet at 400F for 6 to 10 minutes a side, until golden and charred.
  2. Flash-grill the greens. Brush the halved Little Gem hearts with olive oil. Place cut-side down on a scorching grill, 500F, for 60 to 90 seconds, until the outer ribs carry dark grill marks but the interior is still cold.
  3. Assemble. Spread a smooth layer of goat cheese across the bottom of a wide platter. Arrange the warm roots and charred greens over it. Drizzle with the 2:1 lemon and olive oil dressing, scatter the pickled onions, finish with Maldon.
The culinary why

Sixty to ninety seconds and no more. Cooking greens longer wilts them into a limp, watery mess. A hard fast sear takes the outer leaves and the smoky ribs while the core keeps its structure and its chill.

Flat cut faces against hot metal. Laying a cut surface directly on a bare hot sheet triggers rapid Maillard caramelization, while the rounded top traps steam and cooks the inside through.

The smear goes down first. Whipping goat cheese onto the base of the dish anchors the warm roots and the oil, and stops the liquid separating out across the plate.

From the garden

I love food. I love to eat. I fell in love with growing food and cooking because of my love for eating food. I have always been a "fat kid" not in size, but in spirit.

There are many simple dinners that I make based off a revelation I had when I first started working on a farm outside Hot Springs, NC. One day a week, one of us had to make lunch for the rest of the crew. I had no experience with cooking from scratch, but we had access to all of the produce on the farm.

I learned, you do not have to be that good of a cook if you have fresh ingredients, less is more, and you can make healthy and delicious meals without much time or effort.

Simple roasted or grilled veggies have been my go to when I do not have much time, or I am completely exhausted after a long day in the fields. Friends and family often compliment my culinary skills when all I do is toss some veggies in olive oil, salt and pepper, and throw them on a perforated pan on the grill, or roast them off.

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