Grilled Cos Wedges with Anchovy Aioli

Grilling lettuce brings out its natural sweetness, and creates lovely dimension and contrast between the crisp crunch of well-refreshed lettuce heart and the bittersweet charred bits on the exterior. A stick blender is best here, for control, but any blender will do. You could always shortcut the aïoli by whizzing some anchovies and garlic through some whole-egg mayo. You can also make this plant based by making an aquafaba aïoli and whizzing capers into it for extra briney bounce, and then using a planty cheese or grated hazelnuts or macadamias for the cloud instead. I’ve made extra aïoli because it goes with everything, so serve it alongside the salad, for extra drizzling and dipping.

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Instructions

1.	To make the aïoli, put the egg yolks, garlic, anchovies, mustard, vinegar and a tablespoon of water into the base of a blender, or a tall jug, if using a stick blender.
2.	Blitz to a paste, checking that the garlic has fully broken down.
3.	Combine the oils in a small jug, then dribble the combo in, drip by drip to start, while constantly blending.
4.	Once you see a colour change and the mixture starts to emulsify and thicken, you can pour in the oils in a slow and steady stream.
5.	When it becomes very thick at the end, add the lemon zest and juice, and thin with another tablespoon of water so that it’s drizzleable.
6.	Taste and season with pepper, then blitz until super smooth. Decant into a serving jug and set aside.
7.	Heat a clean barbecue grill or grill plate on high.
8.	Cut the cos lengthways and, when ready to grill, brush it and the baguette slices sparingly with olive oil.
9.	Place the cos cut-side down on the grill and cook for a minute or two without moving (you want the char marks).
10.	The baguette slices will be ready to flip after a minute.
11.	Remove items from the grill, rub the baguette with the halved garlic clove and place on a serving plate, along with the cos, charred-side up.
12.	Pour half the anchovy aïoli over, then top with a puffy cloud of finely grated parmesan and a generous sprinkle of chives.
13.	Finely grate lemon zest over and one last crack of pepper for good measure.
14.	Pour the rest of the aïoli into a jug or bowl and pop it on the table so that eaters can help themselves.