1000 Foods (pg. 547) for information, recipe is my own creation

            This upcoming weekend is supposed to be hot. At times like these, most people don’t want to heat up the kitchen by turning the oven on. Grilling, quick-cooking pasta, and stir-fry are all popular options for home cooks, as are a variety of cold salads.

            Supposedly, cobb salad was invented in California in the 1930s as a way to use up leftovers. Turning leftovers into salads was just as common then as now, though inexplicably this often involved mayonnaise and/or gelatin. Thankfully, cobb salad avoided this in favor of a vinaigrette flavored with lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, and garlic. Original ingredients included hard-boiled eggs, blue cheese, chicken, bacon, avocado, and tomatoes, presented in rows for a striped effect.

            Inevitably, cobb salad’s popularity in Hollywood spread the recipe nationwide, with some variations. Since avocados were harder to find outside California, they were frequently omitted, and sometimes other diced ingredients like ham were added. Shredded cheese might replace the blue cheese, and some cooks might use the mayonnaise-based dressings popular at the time.

            For my own recipe, I made three adjustments. Since I don’t like boiled eggs or blue cheese, I replaced them with feta and lentils. The French-style green lentils I found at Woodman’s were particularly good, with an almost meaty flavor. And I omitted the tomatoes because they are not yet in season fresh.

            The final result was a mix of chicken, avocados, bacon, feta cheese, lentils, and romaine lettuce with a flavorful vinaigrette. All the different textures and flavors contrasted well with each other, and the platter was just so pretty.

            Ingredients:

• 1 head romaine lettuce, washed and torn into bite-sized pieces
• About 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs, cooked, cooled, and cut into cubes
• About 8 oz feta or blue cheese
• About 8 oz bacon, sliced across the grain into roughly 1-inch pieces, cooked, drained, and cooled
• 1 cup French-style green lentils (I used Bob’s Red Mill brand) cooked and cooled, or a few chopped hard-boiled eggs
• 2 ripe avocados, halved, seeded, and cut into cubes
• Sliced ripe tomatoes, if in season
• Juice of ½ lemon
• 1 tbsp red or white wine vinegar
• 4 tbsp olive oil
• 1 or 2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed with the side of a knife
• A few dashes Worcestershire sauce
• Salt and pepper to taste

            Directions:

1. For the dressing: combine the lemon juice, vinegar, olive oil, garlic, Worcestershire sauce, salt, and pepper in a bowl and beat together with a fork. Let rest for at least an hour to infuse the garlic flavor.
2. Arrange the remaining ingredients either on a platter or individual plates. Rows are the most traditional, but feel free to let your creativity run wild.
3. Remove the garlic cloves from the dressing. Whisk the dressing and pour over the salad before the liquids separate. Serve.

            To get posts sent directly to your inbox, don’t forget to subscribe. And if you want to support my work with a one-time or recurring donation, I’m not going to complain.