What’s a Classic Cobb Salad
The Cobb salad was born and named after it’s creator, Bob Cobb, in 1937. Bob was the owner of Brown Derby restaurant in Hollywood, California.
One very late night, after the restaurant kitchen was closed, Bob was ruffling through the refrigerator to prepare a meal for himself from the remnants of various ingredients. He found some lettuce, hard boiled eggs, cheese, tomatoes, chives, avocado and leftover bacon.
Bob tossed the ingredients together and shared the salad with a friend. The salad turned out to be so delicious that whenever his friend visited the restaurant, he requested for that same Cobb salad. And just like that a classic was born!
From an American Classic to Winter Cobb Salad
During winter, especially around Christmas and New Year’s Eve, we are all about super-comforting foods like, like casseroles, curries, soups and roasts. And then ALL the desserts, from cakes and halwas to puddings and cookies. Salads… not so much! While salads may not be synonymous with our idea of Holidays, I believe, they should continue to be an important part of our diet in the cold season.
Not only they are full of green goodness nut also ad the much needed freshness and color to the decadent Holiday table.
A really good Cobb salad is not only a thing of beauty but an absolute pleasure to taste. Like any other dish, it’s all about balance of flavors and textures. Keeping this principle in mind, I tried to give a delicious tweak to create a glamourous salad befitting winter season.
Winter Cobb Salad with Maple Orange Dressing
This winter Cobb Salad is full of winter produce but follows the traditional pattern of combining fresh, crunchy, creamy, juicy with tangy.
If you weren’t a salad person already, this is sure to turn you into one. This colorful salad is packed with protein but will leave you feeling full and satisfied. I have a major sweet tooth which is why I love adding fruits to my salads. I made this salad for a weeknight dinner.
But as soon as my husband tasted it, he announced that it’s a ‘party salad’. This festive looking salad couldn’t be more simple to make! For the greens, I added crisp iceberg lettuce.
Then there is lots of juice, tang and color from orange segments, ripe red tomatoes and pomegranate seeds. Any Cobb salad wouldn’t be complete without the bright and sunny hard boiled eggs and add to that some leftover cooked or roasted chicken for a double dose of protein.
The sweet creaminess of roasted sweet potatoes and paneer cheese gives it a satisfying wholesomeness. The homemade orange maple dressing is unbelievably tasty. It makes this winter Cobb Salad truly dinner-worthy. You’ll want to pour it over everything!
If You Like This Recipe, Do Try
- Warm Potato Salad with Peas and Chimichurri Dressing
- Garlic Sautéed Spinach Salad
- Mzoura, Cooked Carrot Salad
- Low Fat Chicken Caesar Salad
Winter Cobb Salad with Maple Orange Dressing
Ingredients
- 1/2 head iceberg lettuce rinsed under cool water and torn roughly by hand
- 3 eggs hard boiled
- 1 cup chicken cooked or roasted
- 1 orange peeled, segmented, seeds removed
- 1 cup ripe red tomatoes diced
- 1 cup pomegranate seeds
- 1 cup sweet potatoes peeled and cut into bite sized cubes
- 1/2 cup paneer or cottage cheese optional
- 3/4 cup orange juice
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup or honey
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- salt to taste
- pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 200 degrees C.
- Line a large enough baking sheet with baking paper and spread sweet potato cubes in a single layer.
- Spray lightly with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
- Bake in preheated oven for 25-30 minutes or till the cubes are golden on the outside and soft inside.
- Meanwhile prep all other ingredients. Boil eggs. Peel and slice. Peel and segment the orange. Peel and cut a pomegranate for seeds. Wash and roughly tear iceberg lettuce leaves.
- Cut into cubes or shred into chunks already cooked or roasted chicken. You can use store bought ready to eat chicken as well. Or simply sauté, roast or boil some chicken boneless pieces while the sweet potatoes are getting roasted.
- Cut into cubes or crumble up some paneer or cottage cheese.
- Mix orange juice, maple syrup/honey, Dijon mustard. salt and pepper in a bowl. Whisk together till everything is combined. Refrigerate or set aside.
- Arrange iceberg lettuce on a large salad platter.
- Arrange eggs, chicken, tomatoes, oranges, pomegranate seeds and sweet potatoes decoratively over the greens (in rows or little mounds.
- Add crumbled paneer on top, if using any.
- Pour over the Maple Orange Dressing over the salad right before serving or serve on the side.
Yum