Cobb salad

The Cobb salad is a classic American main-meal salad from California. With rows of colourful toppings on a bed of crisp lettuce and a robust red wine vinaigrette, this is a complete main course. Ideal for a summer evening or a festive lunch.

Serves: 4
Preparation: 30 minutes
Cooking: 10 minutes
Total time: 40 minutes

Ingredients

• For the salad
• 1 head of romaine lettuce or firm round lettuce (approx. 400 g)
• 75 g watercress
• 2 chicken breasts (total approx. 300 g)
• 4 slices smoked streaky bacon (approx. 80 g)
• 4 eggs
• 2 ripe tomatoes
• 1 small red onion or 2 spring onions
• 2 avocados
• 150 g blue cheese (e.g. Roquefort), crumbled
• 1 tablespoon olive oil or neutral oil, for frying
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• For the vinaigrette
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 small shallot, very finely chopped
• 1 small clove of garlic, finely chopped or pressed
• 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce (optional, for extra depth)

Preparation

• Prepare the lettuce and watercress
  Remove the outer leaves from the romaine or round lettuce. Slice the lettuce into thin strips, wash in cold water and spin or pat very dry. Pick the watercress, remove the thick stems, wash and dry it well too.
• Boil the eggs
  Bring a pan of water to the boil. Carefully lower the eggs into the boiling water and cook for 8–9 minutes for hard-boiled eggs. Rinse under cold running water, peel and slice or quarter.
• Fry the chicken
  Pat the chicken breasts dry with kitchen paper and season generously all over with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a frying pan over a medium-high heat and cook the chicken breasts gently until golden and cooked through. Let them cool out of the pan, then pull into strips or cut into cubes.
• Cook the bacon until crisp
  Cook the streaky bacon slices in a dry frying pan over a medium-high heat until crisp. Drain on kitchen paper and break into pieces.
• Prepare the vegetables and avocado
  Cut the tomatoes into wedges or half-moons. Slice the red onion into very thin half rings, or slice the spring onions into fine rings. Halve the avocados, remove the stone and skin and slice the flesh into slices or strips.
• Get the vinaigrette mise en place
  Finely chop the shallot and chop or press the clove of garlic. Set these out together with the remaining ingredients for the vinaigrette.

Method

1. Make the vinaigrette
   In a bowl, combine the red wine vinegar with the Dijon mustard and whisk until smooth. Then, whisk in the extra virgin olive oil in a thin stream until you have an emulsified vinaigrette. Stir in the finely chopped shallot and the garlic and add the Worcestershire sauce, if using. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper and taste: the vinaigrette should be punchy but not harsh.
2. Dress the lettuce and arrange the platter
   Combine the sliced lettuce and watercress in a large bowl. Toss with just enough vinaigrette to lightly coat the leaves. Spread the dressed greens evenly over a large, flat serving platter as a base.
3. Arrange the toppings in rows
   Arrange the toppings in neat, evenly wide rows over the lettuce, preferably lengthways across the platter: a row of chicken, a row of crisp bacon, a row of egg, a row of tomato, a row of onion or spring onion, a row of avocado and a row of crumbled blue cheese. Make sure the colours alternate nicely for a characteristic Cobb presentation.
4. Serve the salad
   If you like, drizzle a little of the remaining vinaigrette over the toppings or serve the rest on the side, so everyone can add to taste. Serve the salad straight away so the lettuce stays crisp and the toppings remain clearly visible.