The Cultured Cobb Salad

On Friday nights, I like to make a bit of an indulgent meal. I also play jazz music while I cook and feel very French (I'm not sure how the jazz inspires the French feeling). Friday nights always inspire me to celebrate the beginning of the weekend. What better way than with Cobb Salad? Blue cheese, chicken breast, bacon, egg and avocado ALL at the same meal simply makes it feel indulgent. We do a "make your own Cobb Salad night" where we prep all of the toppings and make our own salad at the table depending on what we are in the mood for (sometimes its a half pound of bacon kind of night). This makes it fun, kind of like taco night - but obviously like way more culturally elevated.

The Cultured Cobb Salad


Ingredients to prep for salad for 2:

4 cups romaine or iceburg lettuce
1 sliced tomato
1/4 cucumber sliced
1/4 spanish onion sliced
1 avocado diced
200 g crumbled blue cheese
2 sliced hard-boiled eggs
Crispy cooked bacon (I leave the amount to your good judgment)
Sliced cooked chicken breast seasoned with steak spice

Dressing:

1/4 cup plain yogurt (I always use greek or balkan style)
1/8 cup mayo
1 TBSP olive oil
1 TBSP chopped fresh dill
A few good shakes of hot sauce
1 clove diced garlic
1 tsp sherry vinegar
Salt and pepper

A honey mustard vinegarette is a popular dressing for this dish, but its not my personal favourite. I find that this creamier dressing complements the romaine or iceburg quite nicely, and the dill flavour adds an extra "je ne sais quoi" to the simple ingredients. If you wanted to do obviously healthier spring greens or spinach I would probably suggest using a vinagarette (you can modify this recipy, simply substitute the plain yogurt and mayo with extra olive oil and some lemon juice). We like to serve this salad with fresh corn in season. To keep the crunchy fresh flavor of this summer delight, simply bring a pot of water to a boil, put in the corn, cover and turn off the burner and let it stand for 5 mins. Serve with butter and salt and pepper, and "Voila!"