RECIPES / SALADS & SIDES
Grilled Romaine Salad
Romaine halves go straight onto the grill until the edges char and the centers stay crisp, then get lemon, parmesan, and a handful of crispy rice croutons made from our arborio in the air fryer.
BY PATCHEZ KENNEDY
CO-FOUNDER AT 4SISTERS / SEPTEMBER 3, 2026
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Why Grill It
Ingredients
The Salad
Rice Croutons
Serving
FAQ
PREP
15 min
COOK
25 min
SERVES
4
RICE
Arborio
Ever Put Lettuce on the Grill?
Putting lettuce over a fire sounds wrong the first time you hear it. Lettuce belongs in a cold bowl. But romaine has a thick, sturdy rib running down the middle of every leaf, and that rib is what makes this work.
A few minutes over real heat and the outer leaves pick up char and a little smoke while the heart of the head stays cool and crunchy. You get a warm salad and a cold salad in the same bite. That is the whole trick, and it takes less time than boiling water.
The other half of this recipe is the part we are proudest of. Instead of bread croutons, we scoop cooked and cooled 4Sisters Arborio Rice into little balls and crisp them in the air fryer. Arborio is the right grain for the job because it carries more surface starch than a long grain does, which is the same reason it turns risotto creamy. Here that starch is the glue that holds a scoop together so it can go in the basket and come out crunchy.
Cook your arborio the day before. The recipe calls for rice that is cooked and cooled, and warm rice will not hold its shape in the scoop. A batch made the night before and kept covered in the refrigerator is perfect the next afternoon.
One more note before you start. The crouton ingredients are the cooked rice and the shaved parmesan, and the directions below refer to scooping "rice mixture" into balls. Stir the parmesan through the cooled rice first so it is evenly distributed, then scoop. The cheese is what browns on the outside of each ball.
• 2 heads romaine lettuce, halved lengthwise, with core intact
• olive oil
• fresh lemon
• salt and pepper to taste
• For croutons:
• 1 cup cooked & cooled 4Sisters arborio rice (cooked according to pkg. directions)
• ½ cup shaved parmesan
Directions: For the Salad
1. Preheat grill or a grill pan for the cooktop at medium to medium-high heat.
2. Brush each side of the romaine lettuce with olive oil.
3. Grill each side for 3-5 minutes.
4. Serve drizzled with fresh lemon juice, salt, pepper, & shaved or shredded parmesan cheese, topped with rice croutons.
Directions: For rice croutons
1. Preheat air fryer to 375 degrees.
2. With a small melon ball scoop, scoop rice mixture into balls.
3. Place each rice ball on a silicon air fryer insert.
4. Air fry for about 12 minutes until crispy on the edge.
Rice croutons make a yummy snack too, plain or with your favorite dip.
TIP FROM THE FARM
No air fryer? Spread the scoops on a parchment lined sheet pan and bake at 400 degrees for 18 to 20 minutes, turning them once about two thirds of the way through. They will not get quite as evenly crisp as they do in the basket, but they get close.
Serving It
Put a half on each plate cut side up and let people dress their own. Warm romaine wilts once it is sauced, so the lemon, salt, pepper and parmesan go on at the table rather than in the kitchen. Squeeze the lemon over everything while the leaves are still hot and the smell alone will bring people to the table.
As a side this feeds four alongside anything else off the grill. To make it the whole meal, add a protein straight onto the same grates while they are hot. Grilled chicken, shrimp or a piece of fish all work, and none of them need anything more than oil, salt and the same lemon you already have out.
The croutons are worth making extra of. They keep in an airtight container for a couple of days, they crisp back up in the air fryer for a minute or two, and as the recipe says, they are a good snack on their own. Our team has been known to eat a batch straight off the insert before it ever reaches a salad.
Questions We Get
Why arborio instead of a long grain rice?
Surface starch. Arborio is a short grain that releases more of it than a long grain does, which is what makes risotto creamy and what makes these croutons hold together in the scoop. A long grain like our Organic White is bred to stay separate and fluffy, which is exactly what you want under a gumbo and exactly what you do not want when you are trying to pack rice into a ball. Our Japonica Sushi Rice is the other short grain in our line and it works here too.
Can I use the leftover rice in my refrigerator?
Yes, and that is the easiest way to make this. The recipe specifically calls for cooked and cooled rice, so day-old rice is not a shortcut here, it is the correct ingredient. Just make sure it was cooled and refrigerated promptly after cooking rather than left standing on the counter.
How do I keep the romaine from falling apart on the grill?
Leave the core in. The recipe says to halve each head lengthwise with the core intact, and the core is the hinge that holds all those leaves together over the heat. Cut it out and you will be chasing individual leaves around the grates.
What if I only have a grill pan?
That is already in the recipe. Preheat a grill pan on the cooktop to medium or medium-high and treat it exactly like an outdoor grill. You will get the same char marks and most of the same flavor, minus a little of the smoke.
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