How to Grill Lettuce

At first glance, lettuce might seem like the last vegetable you’d attempt to cook on the grill. Given its propensity to wilt on a warm day, why would you ever expose it to fire? Yet Italians love grilled lettuce—they love the spotted, crinkled chiaroscuro of its looks and the way the leaves absorb the flavor of the fire. The secret lies in the choice of lettuce—the Italians grill firm, bitter lettuces, such as radicchio and endive, that can stand up to the searing heat.