CEiMB: Cobb Salad

So I decided to join Craving Ellie in My Belly, as I mentioned in an earlier post, but immediately got behind. I did make last week’s recipe, Cobb Salad, at the right time. However, life got in the way and I didn’t get the opportunity to post until today. Sorry to the other CEiMB members, I promise the next one will be on time!

This Cobb Salad recipe was chosen by The Feast Within, and I was very excited to try it. I love Cobb salad but rarely order it in a restaurant to avoid the heavy toppings and typically creamy dressings, and I have never make one at home before. I was also a little concerned that my husband wouldn’t play along, but he actually enjoyed it. Note to self: serving salad as a main entree will go over well as long as there is plenty of protein as a topping!

I was also determined to make this recipe exactly as written since it was my first post for CEiMB, but I was not able to find watercress at either of the two grocery stores where I shop and substituted arugula instead. I also made a half recipe since it was just me and my husband and we found that it made three servings total instead of two.

Some other notes on the recipe:

• I really enjoyed the dressing and will make it again for other salads. It is a little tangy, however, so I would include something with fat to cut the tartness rather than serve it over plain greens.
• I also enjoyed subbing Black Forest ham for bacon, but found the amount called for in the recipe to be way too much. I would cut the amount in half for the future.
• While the salad was beautiful with the ingredients all lined up, it seemed almost to be a waste of time since they all mixed together upon serving. In the future, I will probably spread all of the toppings evenly over the salad greens.

Here is the recipe:

Cobb Salad

source: Food Network, Healthy Appetite with Ellie Krieger

Ingredients

For the Dressing:

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon Dijon Mustard
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 small clove garlic, minced
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

For the salad:

• Cooking spray
• 1/4 pound sliced Black Forest or other smoked ham
• 2 hard-boiled eggs
• 6 cups romaine lettuce (about 6 ounces) coarsely chopped
• 2 cups watercress, thick stems removed
• 2 medium tomatoes, seeded and diced (about 2 cups)
• 1/2 avocado, diced (about 3/4 cup)
• 1 cup cooked diced chicken breast 1 (6-ounce) breast
• 1/2 cup crumbled Roquefort or Blue cheese (about 2 ounces)

Directions

In a small bowl, whisk together all of the dressing ingredients and set aside.

Slice the ham into 1/2-inch strips. Spray a nonstick skillet with cooking spray and preheat over a medium-high heat. Add the ham to the skillet and cook over stirring frequently, until the ham is warmed through and crisped, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside.

Remove and discard the yolk from 1 of the hard boiled eggs. Chop the remaining egg white and whole egg and set aside.

In a large bowl toss the romaine and watercress with 2/3 of the dressing. Put the dressed greens onto a large serving dish. Place the tomatoes on top forming a row down the middle. In strips on either side of the tomatoes place the avocado, chicken, cheese, diced egg, and the crisped ham on top of the greens. Drizzle with the remaining dressing and serve.

Per Serving:

Calories 360; Total Fat 24 g; (Sat Fat 7 g, Mono Fat 13 g, Poly Fat 3 g) ; Protein 28 g; Carb 11 g; Fiber 4 g; Cholesterol 115 mg; Sodium 770 mg