Wilted Romaine Salad with Avocado Dressing

Cooked Romaine-who knew you could be so good?!

Not I. At least not until tonight.

I recently went to a cooking demo hosted by a friend of mine in my networking group. I knew it was going to be led by a chef who was FAR from vegan, but wanted to go anyways just to get a taste (pun intended) of how other people instruct their demos and classes. The demo was taught by chef and owner at two awesome restaurants, COOK. and Tryst, both having unique, freshly made food, that includes a few really great vegetarian meals, and at the very least, handmade pretzels. Anywhere that has homemade pretzels, I instantly love.

ANYWAYS, the demo included a chicken roast with some chard cheese pudding and homemade ice cream, which obviously I didn’t sample. HOWEVER, they started with an absolutely incredibly vegan caesar salad with wilted lettuce and I was obviously more than pleasantly surprised. I got to chatted with the both the chef and sous chef and they are always up for trying new things and trying to accommodate vegan patrons. I was so thrilled with my meal, I knew I wanted to make my own version.

This recipe is crazy good, and would be just as delish with uncooked Romaine. I think it would be even better with grilled lettuce, but I ain’t got one of those. I’m planning on making some homemade croutons next time around (maybe polenta ones!), but until then, enjoy this super quick and scrumptious recipe.

1 head of Romaine hearts, cut in halves

1 avocado

3 cloves garlic

1/4 cup water

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp Dijon mustard

1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

1 tbsp red wine vinegar

Juice of half a lemon

Dash of cayenne powder

Sea salt and black pepper

*Raw  salt and vinegar coconut crisps for topping (optional)

• In a blender, combine all ingredients except for Romaine and blend until smooth
• In a large skillet over medium/high heat heat a TINY bit of oil
• Add Romaine to skillet and cook over medium/high heat for 2-3 minutes, tossing and shaking frequently