Grilled Salad with Blistered Cherry Tomatoes and Goat Cheese

This is an excellent side dish to some protein or even a grain or pasta. It has the crunch of salad and the satisfying warmth one wants with dinner or a sit-in lunch.  This serves 2 but you can go ahead and double or triple the recipe.

You will need:

• one washed and dried small head of romaine (cut in halve, lengthwise) 
• ten cherry (or  grape ) tomatoes 
• one third of a small red onion, minced 
• one small handful fresh parsley 
• 2 oz goat cheese 
• olive oil (no limit, just eyeball the amount to your own taste) 
• one fourth cup good balsamic vinegar 
• salt & pepper to taste 

After letting your washed lettuce dry and cut lengthwise, discard the very bottom of the head. Get out your grill pan on the stove-top and heat to med-high. You can you a frying pan too- whatever you have. Drizzle the inside of the head of romaine itself with olive oil and place on the heat for just about three minutes. You want it to wilt, you can even char it if that is the way you like it. To char leave it on longer. Take the lettuce off the heat and place upward (cooked side up) on a plate. It will cool just a touch. Add in your minced red onion to the hot pan. You can add more olive dry if your pan is dry to saute the onion. Meanwhile halve your tomatoes. Add to your pan the balsamic to finish off the onion and then add tomatoes to heat them just enough to blister on high. 

Turn off the heat. At this point your tomatoes should have blistered, onions cooked and balsamic reduced down. Chop your pasley and place it directly on top of the romaine with salt and pepper. Add the onion and tomato mixture- drizzling any extra balsamic over it you like. Add the goat cheese in clumps. These will melt in just a touch. Done and done, bon appetit. 

xoxo Renee