Charred Romaine with Pine Nut Dressing
Halved romaine hearts hit a hot grate, then get a thick toasted pine nut dressing shaken up in a jar.
- calories
- 260
- weight
- 5 oz
- cal / oz
- 52
- protein
- 5 g
- serves
- 6, scales
- prep
- 10 min
- cook
- 10 min
- total time
- 20 min
- water
- none
- cost
- $$
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Dinner
- Lunch
- Grill grate
- Campfire coals
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Canoe / raft
- Vegetarian
- Gluten free
- One pot
- Pre-mix at home
- Needs a cooler
- Basic
Ingredients
| Romaine hearts | 3 | halved lengthwise, keep the core intact so the halves hold together |
|---|---|---|
| Pine nuts, toasted | 1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp | toast at home, they burn fast over a fire |
| Apple cider vinegar | 3 tbsp | |
| Dijon mustard | 1 tbsp | |
| Honey | 2 tsp | |
| Olive oil | 1/4 cup plus 1 tbsp | the extra tablespoon is for brushing the lettuce |
| Grated parmesan | 2 tbsp | the hard dry kind, plus more to finish |
| Salt and pepper | 1/4 tsp each |
Method
- At home, toast the pine nuts in a dry pan until they smell like nuts, then cool them and chop them fine. Bring them in a jar with the vinegar, mustard, honey, parmesan, salt, and pepper.
- In camp, add the 1/4 cup of olive oil to the jar. Cap it and shake for thirty seconds. It should be thick and grainy, not separated.
- Get the grate hot over the coals. Hold a hand over it: three seconds is right.
- Brush the cut faces of the romaine with the remaining oil and salt them lightly.
- Lay the halves cut side down. One to two minutes, until the edges char and the ribs go translucent. Flip, give the backs thirty seconds, and pull them off.
- Spoon the dressing over the hot halves and shower with more parmesan. Serve right away.
This is a car-camping side, not a pack meal: romaine is mostly water and it lives in the cooler. What makes it worth the space is that heat changes lettuce. The cut face caramelizes, the outer leaves go smoky, and the core stays cold and crisp. You get two textures out of one vegetable.
The dressing is built to survive a jar instead of a food processor. Chopping the pine nuts at home does the work the blade would have done, and the mustard holds the oil and vinegar together while you shake. Toast the nuts at home too. Over a fire they go from pale to burnt in about ten seconds and there is no recovering them.
Packing
Dressing base goes in a small screw-top jar at home, oil separate so it does not need shaking in the cold. Romaine hearts travel whole in the cooler, wrapped in a dry towel inside a bag; cut them at camp or they wilt on the drive.
Variations
- Swap the pine nuts for sunflower seeds if cost or allergies are a factor.
- Skip the honey and parmesan and it works as a vegan dressing.
- A can of white beans stirred into the leftover dressing turns the side into a meal.
https://www.lodgecastiron.com/blogs/recipe/grilled-romaine-with-pine-nut-vinaigrette