Grilled Romaine with Lump Crab and Greek Yogurt Caesar Dressing

It may have felt a little bit like fall yesterday morning, but we certainly aren’t going to stop grilling anything and everything any time soon. Having a grill pan—one of our favorite kitchen gadgets—means it’s #GRILLSZN year round, baby!

Grilled romaine is one of our favorite summer go-to’s for a simple, yet delicious, appetizer or entrée. Just a couple minutes of grilling changes the whole salad dynamic. We love the Caesar + seafood combo. Whether it’s shrimp, salmon, or in this case, crab, it’s the perfect compliment to the subtle anchovy flavor in Caesar dressing. Speaking of Caesar dressing…

I’ve always been more of a creamy Caesar gal myself, but it’s no secret that creamy salad dressings are not usually the way to go where healthy eating’s concerned. And store-bought dressings tend to contain a lot of unnecessary ingredients and preservatives. So, we set out to make our own creamy Caesar dressing, using our favorite creamy ingredient: Greek yogurt. And it did not disappoint. Okay, so buying and working with anchovy paste was a little weird at first, but the results were worth it. 10/10 would make again. Better get grillin’!

Grilled Romaine with Lump Crab and Greek Yogurt Caesar Dressing

Ingredients:

• 2 romaine hearts, halved lengthwise
• 8 oz jumbo lump crab meat
• 1/4 cup shaved parmesan cheese
• 1/2 tsp ghee; we used Fourth and Heart Himalayan Pink Salt Ghee.
• olive oil spray
• salt and pepper, to taste

For the Greek yogurt Caesar dressing (makes about 1 cup):

• 3/4 cup plain non-fat Greek yogurt
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
• juice from 1 lemon (about 2-3 tbsp)
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tsp anchovy paste
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/4 tsp dried oregano
• 1/4 tsp salt
• pepper, to taste

Instructions:

1. Combine dressing ingredients and whisk until smooth. Taste and add additional salt, pepper, and/or lemon juice as needed. Set aside or in fridge until ready to serve.
2. Lightly spray grill pan and romaine with EVOO spray and season romaine with salt and pepper. Heat grill pan over medium-high heat. Grill romaine, cut side down, for about 2 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, heat ghee in a skillet over medium-high heat. Once ghee is melted, add crab meat to skillet and cook, tossing occasionally, until heating through.
4. Divide grilled romaine, crab meat and parmesan cheese between two plates. Top with Caesar dressing, as desired. Note: You should have leftover dressing, which you can store in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Yield: 2 servings
Serving Size: 1 salad + 1/4 cup Caesar dressing

295 calories per serving • Fat: 12.4g • Carbohydrates: 6.6g • Protein: 33.5g