Sausage & Pepper Hero Salads

Day three of salad week.

On Monday I decided to have a salad week to get my eating back on track after over indulging on a recent amusement park trip. But I suppose I'm teetering on the edge of eating carnival food with the salad I've made for today: Grilled Sausage and Pepper Hero Salads with French Bread Croutons.

My local supermarket had a selection of chicken sausages in the store brand natural food section. There are a lot of different brands of chicken or even turkey sausage out there so you should not have a problem finding them in your supermarket. And the good news is that when you're using sausage a little goes a long way as far as flavor so I'm not really being too bad. If you are feeling extremely calorically generous with yourself today I'm sure shredded provolone would be a tasty addition. I am still being a caloric Scrooge, so no cheese for me.

Grilled Sausage and Pepper Hero Salads with French Bread Croutons

Croutons:
1 cup 1-inch French bread cubes
2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Dressing:
2 grape or cherry tomatoes
3 basil leaves
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
2-3 drops hot pepper sauce (optional)
1/4 teaspoon salt

Salad:
1 large onion, sliced into 1/2 inch thick planks
2 red peppers, sliced into rings, seeds removed
1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 Italian-seasoned chicken sausages
8 cups shredded Romaine lettuce

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Preheat a gas grill to medium heat.

In a small bowl, combine the bread cubes, oil, salt and pepper. Spread bread cubes in a single layer onto a baking sheet; bake in the oven for 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned. Let the croutons cool while preparing the dressing. (Croutons can be prepared in the grill on a piece of foil, cook, turning occasionally to avoid burning).

In a blender container, combine the tomatoes, basil leaves, olive oil, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, hot pepper sauce and salt; blend until well combined and smooth.

Place the onion planks and pepper rings on a large sheet of aluminum foil. Drizzle the onions and peppers with oil. Place directly on the grill rack and cook 4 minutes. Carefully turn peppers and onions using tongs and taking care to not drop rings through the grate. Cook an additional 4 minutes or until rings are just tender and have nice grill marks. Transfer onions and peppers back to the foil while cooking the sausage.

Place the sausage on the grill rack and cook for 8 minutes, turn and cook for an additional 8 minutes.

To assemble salads, divide the Romaine lettuce between 4 serving plates. Top the lettuce on each plate with the peppers and onions. Carve sausage into slices. Scatter the sausage and croutons over each and drizzle lightly with the dressing.