Reach for the romaine

A lot of times when food writers praise an old-fashioned ingredient such as romaine lettuce, they do it with a nod and a wink and more than a hint of condescension, like fashion critics chortling when a Parisian couture house sends its models out dressed in gingham and lace - "Oh, how very droll!"

Not me. If food is good, it's good and fashion be damned. And romaine is good.

Don't get me wrong, I like my fancy mesclun-style lettuces as much as anyone - I've got a full bed of them in my garden and I trot out to cut my salad greens in the evening just as happily as any other Alice Waters acolyte. Those fancier lettuces have a vivid mix of flavors that I love. (I've got one Asian mustard that's as hot as horseradish.)

But romaine has something they lack - crunch. And sometimes crunch counts. Those mixed lettuces are terrific with good olive oil, a squirt of lemon juice, and a sprinkling of sea salt. But if you're looking at a salad with more heft, a real American salad, you need a lettuce with some structural integrity.

Want a wedge of something to go under a creamy blue cheese dressing (lots of black pepper, please!)? How about a classic Green Goddess, redolent of anchovies, chives, and tarragon? And, of course, you shouldn't even think of a Caesar without picking up a head of romaine.

Indeed, it was this last salad that sparked the rebirth of romaine lettuce and one of the more remarkable turnarounds in modern agricultural history.

Romaine lettuce has been around for centuries. In fact, Egyptian tomb art depicts a lettuce that looks quite like it. In England, it's sometimes known as cos lettuce, allegedly because it was brought from the Aegean island of that name. The name romaine comes because it was supposedly introduced to France when the pope moved from Rome to Avignon in the 14th century.

Almost anything that takes an American-style salad dressing should be built from romaine. (Years ago we had an Italian exchange student stay with us; the first time she was asked at a restaurant what kind of salad dressing she wanted, she was flabbergasted. "Oil, vinegar? How many kinds can there be?")

Well, there's blue cheese, of course. Mash crumbled cheese into mayonnaise along with some minced shallots, then stir in just enough cream to make it pourable. I think the real key to a great blue cheese dressing is lots of black pepper, but that's just me.

My favorite way to use blue cheese dressing is my spin on a steakhouse staple: with crumbled bacon and thinly sliced radishes over romaine.

Or what about homemade Green Goddess dressing? If you've only had store-bought, you're in for a surprise. A well-made Green Goddess is one of the great flavored mayonnaises - tangy with anchovy and brightened by lots of fresh herbs: parsley, chives, and, especially, tarragon.

Because of this, I find it is a great sauce to pair with seafood and chicken. Shrimp, for example, with some torn watercress leaves mixed in just for a bit of a peppery bite. On top of romaine, of course.

And romaine is also good treated like radicchio: grilled and served with a slightly chunky dressing of anchovies and garlic pureed with olive oil. Scatter over the top toasted walnuts and graceful ribbons of shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano, and, finally, you've got a romaine salad even my little Italian friend would recognize.

Makes 6 servings

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For Green Goddess dressing:

4 anchovy fillets, chopped

2 green onions, green parts only, finely chopped

1 1/2 tablespoons chopped parsley

2 tablespoons chopped tarragon

2 tablespoons tarragon vinegar

2 tablespoons minced chives

1 1/2 cups mayonnaise

For the salad:

3 (6-ounce) hearts of romaine

1/2 pound cooked, peeled and deveined medium shrimp

3 tablespoons watercress leaves

Green Goddess dressing

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1. Make the dressing. In a food processor or blender, puree the anchovies, green onions, parsley, tarragon, vinegar, and chives, or grind with a mortar and pestle to make a fairly smooth paste. Stir the mixture into the mayonnaise. Refrigerate tightly covered. This will make just over 11/2 cups dressing, more than enough for the salad.

2. Make the salad. Pull away any tough or faded outer leaves from the romaine, then separate the heads into individual leaves and combine in a mixing bowl.

3. Place the shrimp in another small mixing bowl with the watercress leaves and add just enough Green Goddess dressing to lightly coat, about 2 tablespoons.

4. Spoon about one-half cup of the remaining Green Goddess dressing over the romaine and toss, adding more dressing 1 tablespoon at a time as needed to lightly coat the leaves.

5. Arrange the romaine on 6 chilled salad plates, then arrange the shrimp and watercress on top and serve immediately.

Each serving: 187 calories; 10 grams protein; 4 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams fiber; 15 grams fat; 2 grams saturated fat; 85 mg. cholesterol; 1 gram sugar; 229 mg. sodium.

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