A baby romaine lettuce was languishing in the fridge and I thought this would provide it with a decent end. The sweet/bitter contrast in the lettuce with the tinge of charred caramelisation from grilling, worked well with the salty goat’s cheese sauce and the autumnal quality of walnuts. Really this was what I wanted to make for dinner, the potato salad was an after-thought, albeit a tasty one.
Ingredients:
1 head baby romaine, cut into eight segments (halve, then quarter etc) maintaining stem to hold segments together.
8 small blobs of butter
salt and pepper
chopped toasted walnuts (toasted in dry pan, taking care not to burn)
Sauce:
½ tablespoon plain flour
1 large knob of butter
1 large cup of milk
grated nutmeg
generous amount of hard goat’s cheese, crumbled (or another cheese of your preference) – add enough for your cheesiness preference
salt and pepper
How to make:
Heat grill. Place lettuce bits in oven dish, with small blobs of butter on each piece, and with salt and pepper. Place under grill. Cook until the leaves are lightly charred and browned, turning over to soften on both sides.
For sauce, melt the butter and then add flour and stir for 30 seconds, cooking on a low heat. Slowly add milk and stir. Stir over a medium heat for 5-10 minutes when thickening, add cheese and stir until dissolved. Grate a pinch of nutmeg into it and season with salt and pepper.
Pour sauce over lettuce, and garnish with walnuts and an additional grating of nutmeg.
Eaten with:
See above.
Dinner Document 