Have you ever made a Cobb Salad? A couple of days ago I was bored with the usual tossed salad and barbecued meat ideas and wanted to try something a bit different. I have often seen Cobb Salad pictured, but have never made one myself. I decided to give it a try to see how it turned out.
If you are unfamiliar with the concept of a Cobb Salad, it’s a main-dish American garden salad made from chopped salad greens (iceberg lettuce, watercress, endive, and Romaine lettuce), tomato, crisp bacon, boiled, grilled or roasted (but not fried) chicken breast, hard-boiled egg, avocado, chives, Roquefort cheese, and red-wine vinaigrette.
One way to remember the components is to use the mnemonic EAT COBB: Egg, Avocado, Tomato, Chicken, Onion, Bacon, Blue cheese.
Various stories of how the salad was invented exist. One says that it came about in the 1930s at the Hollywood Brown Derby restaurant, where it became a signature dish. It is named for the restaurant’s owner, Robert Howard Cobb.
Here is a photo of my version. I didn’t have any blue cheese on hand and was too lazy to go to the grocery store – so, I substituted an old cheddar for the blue cheese. Because I had it in the crisper, I also added diced English cucumber. It and the cheddar cheese are not traditional…but, none the less, the salad was still delicious!
This salad is quick and easy to prepare and is perfect for lunch or a light supper. I paired it with a loaf of crusty bread and a glass of chilled Pinot Grigio…YUM!
(I apologize for the lack of photos, honestly, I took a ton of them and cannot find them anywhere! If I find them I will update the post — thankfully, the final result photo was still on the camera.)
- 4 -5 cups mixed salad greens (I used what was in my crisper - a mix of field greens, iceburg lettuce and romaine)
- 4 or 5 chives, chopped and added to the greens
- 3 or 4 green onions, sliced and added to the greens
- 6 slices of bacon, cooked until crisp and crumbled
- 2 chicken breasts, grilled and torn into bite sized pieces
- 4 hard boiled eggs, peeled and cut into wedges
- 1 pint of grape tomatoes, washed and cut in half (I used a tricolor mix of tomatoes but plain red is perfectly fine)
- ½ lemon (to squeeze over avocado)
- 2 ripe avocados, seed removed and cut into ½-inch pieces. Squeeze lemon juice over the avocado pieces to prevent them from browning.
- ½ of an English cucumber, diced
- 1 cup of cubed old cheddar cheese
- salt & pepper to taste
- In a large bowl, toss together the various lettuces, sliced green onions and chives.
- Arrange the chicken, bacon, tomatoes, eggs, cucumber, cheese and the avocado on a serving platter.
- Serve with your favourite salad dressing or if you aren't lazy like I was, you can easily make the traditional dressing. It is a red wine vinaigrette and there are many recipes out there on the web.
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask, I will do my very best to answer them.
Have you ever made a Cobb Salad?
Do you adhere to the traditional recipe?
Is this salad something you think you may try?
Patricia says
I have to say, I have never even heard of this one…… but now that I have, it looks lovely, and I bet, tastes fabulous.
Monica Parlee says
Thanks Pat, it is simple to make and was very tasty!
Oak Lawn Images says
I have never heard of it, but it looks yummy and seems like you can make versions of it, using what you have on had. Great way to use upd veggies.
Claudia says
Consequently tasty! That looks irresistible!
Monica Parlee says
It is so, so good Claudia!
Judy Cowan says
Looks so good and love the presentation! Perfect dinner for a hot summer day!
Monica says
Thanks so much, Judy!