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Hail to the new Caesar. Grilled escarole wedges with lemon-anchovy dressing and roasted peppers


The Gjelina cookbook (yes them again!) describes this as a riff on a caesar salad. I have never eaten a Caesar salad because I have never liked the look of the cheesy dressing! Consequently this has been an absolute revelation for me. However I suspect this recipe is a bit of an improvement on the bottled Paul Newman (plus processed bag of pale croutons) variety. All I know is that the combination of tastes, and particularly, textures made for a delicious and reasonably healthy supper. One that I will definitely be revisiting.
My slight spins/cheats on the book were that 
A. I tried baby gem lettuce and romaine instead of the escarole in the recipe ... on balance we decided that baby gem worked best but either will suffice ... just needs to be a robust lettuce that will hold together on the grill
B. I was a bit lazy and used good quality jarred roasted and peeled peppers
C. I just chucked some bits of sourdough in the oven for 10 minutes or so to create my croutons for crushing

 In the summer I will definitely be doing this on the barbie

Lemon anchovy dressing
1 egg yolk
8 Anchovy fillets
1 garlic clove
1 tsp whole grain mustard 
1 tsp capers
3 tbs fresh lemon juice 
180ml groundnut or grape seed oil
60ml extra virgin olive oil
Maldonado salt
Ground pepper
Dash of Tabasco
Dash of Worcestershire sauce 

The salad
1 large romaine lettuce cut into quarters through the base, keeping the leaves intact (or 2 or 3 baby gem cos lettuce cut in half or quarters depending on size)
2tbs ex virgin olive oil 
Salt and pepper
1 handful oven baked croutons (preferably sourdough)
Fresh lemon juice for serving
1 roasted or grilled red pepper (I used a jarred one from Waitrose)
1 or 2 anchovy fillets
chunk of Parmesan for shaving 

Method
To make the dressing 
In a food processor combine the egg yolk, anchovy fillets, garlic, mustard, capers and lemon juice. Process until combined.
Combine the two oils into one cup that is easy to pour from. With the food processor running, add the oil to the egg yolk mixture, a few drops at a time at first and steadily increasing the flow as the mixture begins to emulsify. Season with salt and pepper (not too much salt as the anchovies provide quite a bit already).
Add the Tabasco and Worcestershire sauce. The dressing should be thick and lemony with a bold punch of anchovy. If the dressing seems too thick add a few drops of water to thin.
Heat a griddle pan on the hob.
Drizzle the lettuces all over with the olive oil and season.. put them on the griddle cut side down and turn once, until well seared with nice char marks. Transfer to a serving dish or plate.
Place the croutons on the work surface and, using a rolling pin or a knife, crush into coarse crumbs.
Top the greens with the dressing and a bit of fresh lemon juice. Garnish with the roasted peppers, anchovy fillets, and a shower of crouton crumbs. Shave some Parmesan over the salad and serve immediately.



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