Grilled Caesar Salad with Barbecued Scallops and Prawns

A recipe from The Complete New Zealand Seafood Cookbook by The Auckland Seafood School. Published by Penguin Group NZ. Copyright © The Auckland Seafood School, 2013

(Serves 4)

Ingredients

• 8 × 5mm-thick baguette slices
• 3 baby lettuces (romaine, cos or gem)
• 200g scallops
• 200g raw prawn cutlets
• olive oil
• salt and freshly ground pepper
• 80g Parmesan, shaved
• 4 roma tomatoes, washed and quartered
• 1 lemon, cut into wedges or thick slices

Anchovy dressing

• 2 anchovy fillets, drained and chopped
• 1 clove garlic, chopped
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper
• 1 egg
• 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice (or to taste)

Method

1. To make anchovy dressing, purée anchovies, garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper in a blender until smooth. Add egg and lemon juice. Blend for 1–2 minutes until emulsified, and adjust seasoning to taste.

2. Prepare grill or barbecue to a medium–hot heat. Brush both sides of baguette slices with some anchovy dressing, reserving some for later. Grill bread on the barbecue, turning occasionally until toasted, for 1–2 minutes.

3. Discard outer leaves from lettuces and cut lettuce hearts in half lengthwise. Grill on barbecue until grill marks start to appear (approximately 2 minutes). Cut lettuce crosswise into 5cm-wide strips and transfer to a bowl.

4. Place washed and dried scallops and prawns in a bowl. Season to taste and coat with a little olive oil. Barbecue scallops and prawns on the hot plate for 1 minute or until just cooked.

5. Halve or quarter toast slices and add to lettuce along with Parmesan. Toss the salad with just enough dressing to coat.

6. To serve, place dressed salad on plates, arrange quartered tomatoes around and place seafood on top. Serve lemon on the side.

(Image above - Copyright © Photography Sean Shadbolt, 2013)