Chipotle Caesar Salad with Grilled Avocado and Corn

How long has the grilled chicken Caesar been ubiquitous? When well-executed, it can serve as a decent lunch. But it's nothing spectacular.

I have threatened for years to make a grilled everything Caesar. Grill the chicken. Grill the garlic in the dressing. Grill the Romaine. Heck, even grill bread to make croutons.

So I was thrilled to run across a recipe in Gourmet magazine recently that took it even a step further by including grilled avocado and corn. Inspired, I added the lettuce to the grill and threw some shrimp on for good measure. Here's the resulting recipe.

Chipotle Caesar Salad with Grilled Avocado and Corn
Serves four as a main dish.

1/4 cup grated parmesan
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 tablespoon minced canned chipotle chiles in adobo
6 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 ears of corn, shucked
2 firm-ripe 6- to 8-oz avocados, halved and pitted but not peeled
1 head romaine (1 lb), tough outer leaves discarded and head halved lengthwise (Leave core in so that lettuce stays in one piece on grill.)
24 shrimp, shelled and de-veined
Garlic pepper
Toasted pepita seeds or fried tortilla strips, optional for garnish.

Light the grill.

Put parmesan in a medium bowl and add olive oil in a slow stream, whisking. Whisk in lime juice, garlic, chipotles, and 1/4 tsp each of salt and pepper.

Rub vegetable oil on corn, cut sides of avocados, and cut side of Romaine, then season with garlic pepper. Place shrimp on metal skewers and season with vegetable oil and garlic pepper. Grill Romaine and avocados, cut sides down, and corn, turning corn occasionally, until golden-brown, 3 to 4 minutes. At the same time, grill shrimp for 2-3 minutes on each side until opaque and just cooked through.

Peel avocados and thinly slice. Cut corn kernels from cobs. Core lettuce and cut crosswise into one-inch strips.

Toss romaine with dressing and serve topped with shrimp, avocado and corn. Sprinkle pepitas or tortilla strips on top for added crunch if desired.