17 August 2026
Char-Grilled Cos with Anchovy-Caper Dressing & Parmesan Crumb
Dave Moorkens— Stacked Farm Chef
Yes, You Can Grill Lettuce
Serves 2 · 15 minutes
Most people have never thought to cook lettuce, which is a shame, because cos takes to a hot grill beautifully. The cut side picks up colour and a bit of smoke while the heart stays cold and crisp, so you get two textures out of the same leaf.
Dave, our chef, finishes it with an anchovy and caper dressing and a toasted parmesan crumb. It takes about fifteen minutes and it turns a side salad into something you'd actually order.
Chef's tip — Get the pan properly hot before the lettuce goes anywhere near it. If it's only warm you'll steam the leaves instead of charring them and you'll end up with a sad, wilted half. The other thing is to start with dry leaves, because any water sitting on the leaf turns straight to steam.
Dave Moorkens — Stacked Farm Chef
Ingredients
- 2 cos heads, halved lengthways
- 2 tbsp olive oil, plus extra for brushing
- 2 anchovy fillets, finely chopped
- 1 tbsp baby capers, chopped
- 1 clove garlic, crushed
- 1 lemon, juice and zest
- 30g parmesan, finely grated
- 20g fresh breadcrumbs
Method
- Brush the cut side of the cos with olive oil and char it on a hot grill or pan for 1 to 2 minutes a side. You're after colour rather than collapse, so the leaves should still have plenty of crunch when you take them off.
- Whisk the anchovy, capers, garlic, lemon juice and zest together with the olive oil to make the dressing.
- Toast the breadcrumbs with the parmesan in a dry pan until they turn golden.
- Drizzle the dressing over the cos and scatter the parmesan crumb on top.
Chef's serving suggestion — It's very good next to a steak or a roast chicken. If you'd rather it was lunch, add a soft-boiled egg and it holds its own.
Dave Moorkens — Stacked Farm Chef
Why it works
Charring brings a gentle bitterness out of the cos, and everything else on the plate is there to balance it. The anchovies and capers bring the salt, the lemon cuts through, and the crumb puts back the crunch you just cooked off the outer leaves. Nothing on the plate is doing the same job twice.
Starts dry, stays crisp
Ours is grown indoors, with no pesticides, and it's never washed — so it arrives clean and dry, ready to use straight from the pack. Which is exactly what this recipe wants. No rinsing, no patting dry, no water sitting on the leaf working against your grill.
More greens on the grid.
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FAQs
Yes. Sturdy varieties like cos hold up to heat for 1–2 minutes a side on a hot grill chars the outside while the heart stays crisp. Softer lettuces like butter lettuce will collapse.
Cos. Its dense ribs and upright leaves give it the structure to take direct heat without wilting.
Yes, cos and romaine are the same lettuce. Cos is the common name in Australia and the UK, romaine in the US.
Start with dry leaves, use a properly hot pan, keep it to 1–2 minutes a side, and dress it after grilling rather than before.
Yes. Swap the anchovies for an extra teaspoon of capers and half a teaspoon of Dijon, you'll keep the salt and the sharpness. Use a vegetarian hard cheese in place of parmesan to make the whole dish vegetarian.
No. It's grown in a sealed indoor room with no pesticides and it's never washed, so it comes to you ready to eat.