Recipes / Salads / American Ingredients Servings
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Quantities for 4 servings
2 romaine hearts, finely chopped 2 skinless chicken breasts 8 rashers of streaky bacon 4 large eggs 2 ripe avocados, diced 300 g cherry tomatoes, halved 100 g blue cheese, crumbled 3 tbsp finely chopped chives 1 tbsp olive oil, for the chicken For the red wine vinaigrette: 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 2 tbsp red wine vinegar 1 tsp Dijon mustard 1 small garlic clove, grated 1/2 tsp caster sugar Salt and black pepper
Treat this list as a starting point rather than a shopping order. Swap what you haven't got, leave out what you dislike, add what you love — this is exactly the kind of dish that rewards poking around in the fridge.
Method 1 Lower the eggs into boiling water and cook for 9 minutes for a just-set yolk, then plunge straight into iced water. The cold shock stops the cooking and prevents the grey ring that forms around an overcooked yolk. Peel and quarter. 2 Lay the bacon in a cold, dry pan and only then turn on the heat. Starting cold renders the fat out slowly and gives you evenly crisp rashers. Cook for 8–10 minutes, drain on a rack, then chop. 3 Season the chicken breasts and cook in the olive oil over medium heat for 6–7 minutes a side, until they reach 74°C in the thickest part. Rest for 5 minutes before dicing, or the juices run out onto the board. 4 Shake all the vinaigrette ingredients together in a jar until thickened and emulsified. Taste it on a lettuce leaf rather than a spoon — dressings always read sharper on their own. 5 Spread the chopped romaine across a wide, shallow platter as an even bed. A deep bowl hides the arrangement, which defeats the point. 6 Lay the chicken, bacon, egg, avocado, tomato and blue cheese in distinct parallel stripes across the lettuce. Chop everything to roughly the same size so each forkful gets a bit of each — that uniform dice is the actual signature of a Cobb. 7 Scatter the chives over the top and bring the dressing to the table separately. Let everyone admire the stripes, then pour it over and toss thoroughly before serving. Tap a step to cross it off. Your place is saved on this device.
Cook’s notes Dice the avocado last and toss it with a squeeze of lemon, or it browns while you assemble everything else.
Blue cheese is traditional — Bob Cobb used Roquefort at the Brown Derby in 1937. Mature Cheddar is the common milder substitution if blue cheese is too much for the table.
Every element can be prepared a day ahead and refrigerated separately. Assemble only when you are ready to serve, and never dress it in advance.
How it should look Photos of the finished dish, so you know what you’re aiming for.
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