You must make this salad. MUST!
It’s more fixings than salad, and more of a main course than a side dish. Especially if you add chopped up grilled chicken to it. Oooooh, think: tequila lime chicken…but that’s a recipe for another post.
Today we’re talking about a rainbow of chopped up veggies, shredded cheeses, avocados and, of course, lettuce. This will be huge enough to feed a crowd.
I made this for my niece’s 1st birthday party where gluten was an issue for some of the guests and the salad and dressing were a total hit! The cool thing about this dressing is that it is dairy free and it also works on top of grilled steak and chicken for fajitas, or any Tex-Mex menu.
First things first: cook your bacon. You only need 1 lb of thick cut bacon, but you better get 2 lbs since it’s impossible not to snack on pieces while you throw this together. Also, bacon thieves come out of the woodwork once the smell of bacon hits the air {…Joel…}. I like to lay slices down on a foil lined baking sheet and bake for 20-25 minutes in a 375° oven. Once cooked, chop up and set aside.
While the bacon is baking, hard boil a few eggs. Maybe 3 or 4…or 4 or 5. Truth be told, I have a hard time just hard boiling 2 or 3 eggs. I like to boil at least 6 at a time, then eyeball how much looks good in the salad bowl then keep the rest in the fridge for snacks or 2nd breakfast. There are a gazillion different ways to boil an egg. I go with the eggs in a saucepan of cold water, covering by an inch. Set to boil on medium-high/high heat and let boil a few minutes. Cover with a lid, remove from heat and let “steep” for 20 minutes. Remove from pan and submerge in icy cold water. Peel and chop 3-4 of them once cooled completely.
Now get your veggie chopping on.
- Halve a pint of grape or cherry tomatoes
- Seed and dice 1 red and 1 orange bell pepper
- Seed and dice 1-2 jalapeños
- Cut/remove kernels from 2 ears of fresh corn (can cheat here and use half of a can of corn, drained)
- Cut 2 avocados into cubes
Here’s my secret to take the flavor of this salad up a click: heat a tablespoon of butter in a cast iron pan and cook the corn and jalapeño together for about 5-6 minutes. Just to roast and char ’em up a bit. Let cool to room temp, or cook the night before and bring to room temp before adding to the salad.
Grab some pre-shredded cheese, or finely grate your own. Use a Colby-Jack or cheddar-Jack combo. Both are mild flavored and, well, just pretty to look at!
So…This is a salad, right? My personal favs for the greens behind these toppings are chopped romaine and handfuls of baby spinach. You could use baby romaine, pre-packaged mixed Italian blend, pretty much any greens you’d like. I would skip head lettuce though because there is zero nutritional value in it. And you need some goodness to offset this much bacon! Throw your greens into a large bowl and toss to combine.
- 1 large head of romaine, chopped
- 2-3 large handfuls of baby spinach
- 1-2 lbs thick cut bacon, cooked and chopped
- 3-4 eggs, hard boiled and chopped
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved or quartered depending on how large they are
- 2 avocados, cubed
- 1 each, red & orange bell pepper, diced
- 2 ears of corn, kernels removed from the cob (or half of a can of corn, drained)
- 2 jalapenos, seeded and diced
- 1 cup finely shredded cheddar-jack, colby-jack or pre-packed "Mexican Blend" cheese
- 1 tablespoon of butter (to cook the corn and jalapeno, if desired)
- Store bought tortilla strips (in the salad toppings isle)
- In a cast iron or heavy bottom skillet, heat a tablespoon of butter on medium-high heat. Add corn kernels and diced jalapeno and cook, stirring with a wooden spoon until lightly charred.
- In a large bowl, toss chopped romaine and baby spinach making a bed of lettuces.
- Arrange toppings (corn & jalapeno mixture, bell peppers, tomatoes, egg, bacon and avocado) in neat little rows or triangular wedges atop the bed of lettuce and spinach.
- Line the edge with shredded cheese.
- Serve with Avocado Cilantro-Lime Dressing
- 1 avocado
- 1 bunch of cilantro, larger stems removed
- 2 cloves garlic, smashed
- 2 limes, juiced
- up to 1/4 cup olive oil
- 4 tablespoons agave, or more for a sweeter dressing (depending on how sour your limes are, or how sweet your tooth is)
- 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
- Water, depending on desired consistency ~ you may not need any at all, you may need about 1-4 tablespoons.
- kosher salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste
Throw all ingredients except olive oil into a food processor and pulse until combined. Drizzle in olive oil slowly to emulsify. Check the flavor and add water, olive oil and agave to consistency and sweetness desired.
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Well, that was a ton of instructions for a very simple salad! I’ll try to feature the chicken option in another post…
So tell me, what are your favorite variations and toppings to put on a cobb?? Doesn’t this salad feel healthy? A great way to kick off those 2014 resolutions. Just go easy on the bacon, my friends.
xoxo,
~p
