If ever there were a salad I could claim as my own, it would be the Cobb salad. And by “claim as my own” I mean it’s the only salad I continuously reach for. And by “continuously” I mean that I eat it a handful of times a year. at work when I forgot to bring my lunch and I’m desperate for something quick. (Our cafeteria has a pretty decent pre-packaged Cobb salad option!) Even though I’ve made a few salads at home over the years, I’ve never made this salad. Which meant it was high time to do so.
There are various Cobb salad recipes floating around the internet and most of them contain the the same basic ingredients: chicken, bacon, blue cheese, avocado and tomato. Usually where you see variation is in the dressing (blue cheese versus a vinaigrette) and the greens sprinkled across the top (green onions versus chives). This recipe is adapted from the recipe found at NYT cooking and uses all ingredients I had on hand, besides the avocado, which I made my dad buy.
I ate this salad with blue cheese dressing while my dad chose balsamic vinaigrette. I think either would be a fine option depending on if you’re looking for a lighter dressing or a creamier, dreamier dressing.
This salad made enough for two for dinner but if you want it as a starter salad, you could get a whole bunch more servings.
ingredients.
- 9 oz romaine lettuce, washed and spun dry (if necessary)
- 2 eggs, hard boiled and sliced
- 8 to 10 oz chicken cooked and sliced
- ½ lb bacon, cooked and chopped
- 2 oz blue cheese, crumbled
- 2 oz cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
- one large avocado, sliced
- green onions (green part), sliced or chives, sliced
- blue cheese dressing or balsamic vinaigrette, to taste
directions.
- Place lettuce in your largest serving bowl or platter. Top with chicken, tomatoes, eggs, avocado, bacon and blue cheese. Spoon dressing over the top and sprinkle with green onions or chives. Season with fresh cracked pepper.
- Alternatively you can toss the lettuce and dressing together in a bowl, place it in a large plastic baggy (or plastic container with a lid) with some dressing and shake to distribute and then pour the lettuce into a bowl and top with ingredients.
Note that you will want to adjust the portions of the ingredients to your own tastes. If you like tons of bacon, add a whole bunch more. Skip the green onions or chives if you don’t like green stuff. Swap the blue cheese for another cheese or omit the cheese altogether. Make the salad your own for a Cobb-esque salad, if you wish.
You will see in the pictures that the eggs are not quire hard-boiled. This is because I took the eggs out of the water a minute early. I was a bit annoyed when I felt the eggs after they cooled because I knew immediately they were not hard boiled and confirmed it when I cut into them with the knife. However, I found I didn’t mind the soft-boiled eggs in the salad. It lended even more creaminess to the dish, and, besides, I’m not overly fond of the texture of hard boiled eggs as I find them kind of dry.
Incidentally, whenever I try to make soft-boiled eggs they overcook. So the secret is to boil water and add the eggs for 7 minutes only, remove the eggs and cool immediately. That technique yields a slightly runny and softer-boiled egg.
Recipe rating:
Food Snob 