The Cobb salad, one of the few salads I would actually order when eating out due to its variety of toppings giving the salad tons of flavor, texture and nutrients. As the title implies, the recipe I am going to share is a Cobb salmon salad, but you can switch your protein to your liking. Now lets get into the specs of this salad.
Toppings
First I am going to share what my Cobb salad recipe includes and then I will get into the history of the traditional Cobb salad.
You are going to need romaine lettuce and kale or spring mix (which ever you prefer) tomatoes, red onions, cucumber, feta cheese (I prefer feta over blue cheese), shredded white cheddar, egg and beef bacon. I didn’t have any avocado on hand, but I would definitely add that. There are tons of other things you could add to make “your” version of the Cobb salad, but I will get into that in the brainstorm segment.
History
The Cobb salad was made in in 1937 by the Executive Chef of the Hollywood Derby Restaurant (Robert Howard Cobb). He made it as a midnight snack tossing together leftover ingredients with bacon that one of his line cooks made and French dressing and it turned out to be a hit that was then added to the menu. The authentic Cobb salad includes chopped romaine, iceberg, watercress and endives. The toppings include corn, avocado, tomato, chives, chicken breast, bacon, hard boiled egg, and Roquefort cheese.
Ingredients:
| Ingredient | Quantity |
| Spring mix | 8 oz |
| Kale (chopped) | 4 oz |
| Grape Tomato (halved) | 8 oz |
| Cucumber (diced) | 4 oz |
| Red Onion (diced) | 4 oz |
| Feta Cheese | 4 oz |
| Shredded White Cheddar | 4 oz |
| Beef Bacon | 4 slices |
| Egg (medium-soft boiled) | 2 |
| Olive Oil | 1 Tbsp |
| Salmon (skin on) | 2 6 oz pieces |
| Salt | TT |
| Pepper | TT |
| Garlic Powder | 1/4 tsp |
| Cayenne Pepper | 1/4 tsp |
| Ranch Dressing | as needed |
Instructions
- Season the salmon with the salt, pepper, garlic powder and cayenne pepper.
- Bring a pot filled with salted water to a gentle boil and gently lay the eggs in. Boil them for 6-8 minutes. Transfer to an ice bath and let them cool down. Then peel the shell of the eggs. Cut in halves or quarters.
- In a pan on medium heat, add the olive oil. Once the oil is hot add the salmon skin the side down first. Cook skin side down for 4 minutes or until it is crispy. Then flip the salmon to the other side.
- In the same pan, add your beef bacon slices to cook beside the salmon if you have enough pan space. Cook until the bacon is crispy on both sides.
- Assemble. In two bowls add the spring mix and kale to the center of the bowl, then in a circular fashion add each topping. Then drizzle on your choice of dressing and lay one piece of salmon per bowl in the center.
Tips:
- You can marinate your salmon over night if you want more of a kick in flavor there, although it probably isn’t necessary. The toppings already add tons of flavor to the salad.
- Let your cooked eggs sit in the ice bath then, peel them while the salmon and bacon is cooking. Multitask if you can to get the salad finished quicker.
Brainstorm:
Now incomes the fun part, the brainstorm segment. The part where you daydream of all of the possible mouthwatering outcomes that can be made. So first lets start with the protein. Instead of pan searing the salmon you could grill it to get a nice charred flavor, you could poach it in a flavored poaching liquid. You could substitute the salmon for chicken or steak etc. If you choose either of these two meat options, you should slice it on top rather than keeping it whole. With salmon, it’s so soft that you can easily mix it into the salad, but the other two may give you some trouble when mixing since they are more firm. If you want to skip the cooking of a meat option you can use sliced deli meat and it would still taste good. Some Cobb salad ideas use quail eggs instead of chicken eggs, so if you have access to those, you can try that out. I personally have never tried quail eggs though.
Dressing. You can also use a different dressing of course. There are tons of dressings out there too. You could do a poppy seed dressing, Roquefort dressing, thousand island, or a vinaigrette.
Toppings. Keep in mind that this salad was a throw together of ingredients. You can incorporate what ever vegetables you have on hand. poached asparagus, celery, croutons, etc. It wouldn’t be a Cobb salad anymore, but it is YOUR salad and it is delicious.
Hope you all enjoyed this salad recipe, have a blessed one
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