Abundant lettuce suddenly meets unseasonably hot, sunny weather. You know what happens. The lettuce is so stressed that instead of producing a lovely leafy head, it bolts. Seed production begins before the head has even formed.

We were just settling nicely into the salad season – spinach had finished, buttercrunch were coming along beautifully, romaines looked outstanding. For about ten days I had been harvesting buttercrunch lettuce by picking the outer leaves while they were small and tender. Then the heat wave. Buttercrunch was the first to bolt.

I hated to compost all those lettuce plants. Fortunately I remembered hearing a coworker talk about how much his family enjoyed grilled romaine as a summer side dish with their steaks. Why not try that with bolting buttercrunch?

The experiment was a success so I’m sharing it with you. If you don’t have bolting lettuce, you might like to try it using normal romaine hearts.

Step One: Wash the Lettuce

Step Two: Cut the Lettuce in Half Lengthwise

Step Three: Oil the Cut Side of the Lettuce Halves

Step Four: Grill the Lettuce Cut Side Down

Step Five: Serve and Enjoy

Surprisingly delicious!