If you’ve never had grilled romaine before, you’re in for a serious treat. You might think grilling lettuce will wilt it, but no — it chars the outer leaves and infuses some serious smoke. We drizzled the charred romaine hearts with a Caesar-ish vinaigrette featuring garlic, lemon juice, nutritional yeast, vegan Worcestershire sauce and a few other tangy ingredients. The result was light yet beyond flavorful.

But we didn’t stop there! To finish off the Grilled Caesar Salads, we blanketed them in a layer of fresh Parmesan cheese and sprinkled them with crunchy chickpeas, aka “healthy croutons.” I love this dish for springtime, or for any time you’re in the mood for a simple but savory dinner.

Grilled Caesar Salads with Crunchy Chickpeas | OKC Veggie

INGREDIENTS

3-4 romaine hearts per person
Shredded Parmesan cheese
1 - 15 oz. can of chickpeas, drained & rinsed
4 T. extra virgin olive oil + more for grilling
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 shallot, minced
1 T. nutritional yeast
1/2 t. Dijon mustard
Juice of one lemon
1 t. vegan Worcestershire sauce
1 t. minced capers
Salt & pepper, to taste

STEPS

To achieve the ultimate crunchy chickpeas, we roasted them low and slow for 3 hours. We wouldn’t recommend any shorter than two hours, so plan ahead!

1) Preheat the oven to 300 degrees and place a baking sheet in the oven while it’s heating.

2) Drain and rinse the chickpeas and pat them dry with a paper towel. Allow the chickpeas to sit and dry for at least 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, toss them in a bowl with 1 T. olive oil and season well with salt and pepper.

3) Transfer the chickpeas to the preheated baking sheet and roast for 1 hour. After an hour, turn the oven off, but keep the chickpeas in the oven for another 2 hours. They’ll continue to get crispy as the oven cools.

4) When the chickpeas are ready, heat a charcoal or gas grill to high. Use a grill brush to clean the grill. Dip a paper towel into cooking oil (olive oil, vegetable oil or whatever you happen to have on-hand) and use tongs to brush the grill grates with the oil-soaked paper towel.

5) Brush the romaine leaves with a bit of olive oil and sprinkle with salt & pepper. Place the lettuce onto the grill (cut-side down) and cook until it’s charred around the edges, about 3-4 minutes.

6) Add the garlic cloves, shallot, nutritional yeast, Dijon mustard, capers and Worcestershire sauce to a small bowl. Season with salt & pepper, then add the lemon juice and 3 T. olive oil. Whisk well.

7) Place the grilled romaine leaves onto a plate. Drizzle them with the Caesar-ish vinaigrette, then top with shredded Parmesan and crunchy chickpeas. Serve immediately.