Recipe: Grilled Hearts of Romaine with Gorgonzola - WSFA.com: News Weather and Sports for Montgomery, AL.

Recipe: Grilled Hearts of Romaine with Gorgonzola

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Chef Mark Leslie is back in the kitchen, and today he's working on an easy recipe your significant other will think came out of a fancy restaurant. Serve on a nice plate and enjoy! Here's how to make it.

Grilled Romaine Hearts with Gorgonzola, Yogurt & Pecans 

For the dressing:

3 ounces (3/4 cup) crumbled Gorgonzola cheese

1/2 cup plain, non-fat yogurt

3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil leaves

1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt

1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 

In a small bowl, using a fork, mash together the Gorgonzola and yogurt until a creamy, but still lumpy, dressing is formed. Stir in the basil, salt and pepper until well mixed. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Makes approximately 3/4 cup dressing. 

For the Romaine:

6 Romaine hearts

1/2 to 3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

Kosher salt

Freshly cracked pepper 

For garnish:

1/2 cup Fancy Pecan halves, toasted, then roughly chopped  

Remove any bruised or wilted outside leaves of the Romaine hearts. Cut each heart lengthwise in half from the tip through the core, making sure to leave the core attached – the core holds the leaves of each half together. Place the heart halves into a large bowl of water, plunging up and down several times to rinse off the hearts. Dry the hearts completely with a kitchen towel or paper towels and place on a platter. Lightly brush the outside and cut side of each Romaine heart with oil and season with salt and pepper. 

Heat a grill pan over medium-high heat or heat an outdoor grill. When hot, place the seasoned hearts on the grill, in batches if necessary, and grill until the outer leaves start to wilt and get grill marks on them.  Using tongs, turn the hearts over as they cook to grill both sides of the hearts. The hearts will grill relatively quickly depending on the heat of the grill, so keep an eye on them to prevent burning. 

Place the grilled hearts on a platter, cut-side up, drizzling the dressing over the hearts. Garnish the dressed hearts with chopped pecans. Serve while the hearts are still warm from the grill or at room temperature. 

Serves 6 as an entrée-sized salad, 12 as a side salad.

Copyright 2012  WSFA 12 News.  All rights reserved.

About Mark Leslie

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Mark Leslie, recently seen on NBC's Today Show, loves to cook for anyone with an appetite, vacations in Italy every year and lives to eat his way through every plate of pasta and cone of gelato placed

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