As a caterer, I frequently grill on event sites. Meat and seafood seem to taste better grilled, but guess what? Vegetables love the grill too!
Not typically a salad topping, freshly grilled vegetables are colorful and flavorful. I love how the vegetables caramelize and get a little char marks, which adds a subtle smokiness to the flavor. The crisp romaine holds up well in this salad, the pepitas add crunch, and the cotija cheese adds creaminess. I serve this salad with an amazing fresh cilantro dressing, the recipe is below.
This South American Grilled Vegetable Salad was designed for a Latin-themed event. Minor changes can make it a perfect fit for any theme, such as dropping the cilantro, adding Kalamata olives, cucumber, and switching to feta cheese for a Mediterranean theme.
South American Grilled Vegetable Salad
This colorful salad is perfect to serve at a fiesta or with any Mexican theme menu. It is hearty enough to serve as a vegetarian entree salad.
Serves 30
3 pounds romaine lettuce ½ head red cabbage shredded
6 Roma tomatoes 4 summer squash
4 zucchini 3 red onions
4 carrots 1 bunch cilantro chopped
3 red bell pepper 2 cups pepitas
1 bunch cilantro garnish 20 Cotija cheese
Wash and cut romaine into bite size pieces. Cut tomatoes into wedges. Clean vegetables and slice into large planks or pieces (large enough to not fall through grill). Blanch carrots.
In batches, on a very hot grill, place zucchini, summer squash, blanched carrots, red onions and bell peppers. Grill 1 to 3 minute per side and remove to a sheet pan to cool. Sprinkle grilled vegetables with a few pinches of salt.
Once they are cool, cut vegetables down to bite size. Layer over romaine lettuce with tomatoes, cilantro, pepitas and Cotija cheese.
Serve with Cilantro Pepita Dressing, see page 102 for recipe.
COOKS NOTE
Pepitas, also called Mexican pumpkin seeds, give the salad a nutty crunch, they can be found in the produce section of most markets. If the Cotija Cheese is unavailable, Feta Cheese is a great substitute.
CATERING NOTE
Grill and add steak as another entree salad option.
Cilantro Pepita Dressing
Yields 32 ounces
2 Anaheim chili peppers remove seeds 2 bunches cilantro stems removed
2 garlic cloves peeled ¼ cup water
12 ounces salad oil 1½ cups mayonnaise
⅓ cup Cotija cheese grated ½ cup buttermilk
¼ cup red wine vinegar
⅓ cup pepitas roasted
¼ teaspoon black pepper ground
1 teaspoon salt
Place Anaheim chilies, garlic, salad oil, cotija cheese, red wine vinegar, pepitas, black pepper and salt in a food processor and process for 10 seconds. Pulse in cilantro, little by little and blend until smooth.
In separate bowl place water and mayonnaise and mix with a wire whisk until smooth. Add the buttermilk and the blended ingredients and mix completely. Chill before serving.