A composed Cobb salad is very much about appearance—not surprising, given that its birthplace is Hollywood! Created in th1920s at LA’s famed Brown Derby restaurant, the Cobb is about substance too. A well-executed Cobb assembles a large cast of flavored and textured ingredients that look and taste superb together: crunchy greens; tender chicken; buttery avocado; juicy tomato; hard-cooked eggs; crispy, smoky bacon; and tangy blue cheese. But we wanted a Cobb salad for the 21st century—a beautiful vegetarian keto superhero.
So we took the chicken out but kept the protein-rich hard-cooked eggs. And we replaced bacon’s smoky flavor with sautéed shiitake mushrooms, which we spiced with smoked paprika and chili powder. To up the nutritional ante, we used kale as the greens instead of romaine, and we added radicchio for lovely color and a slight bitter edge. We tossed some dressing with our greens and drizzled the rest over our still-classic yet modern vegetarian keto Cobb. You should have 4 ounces of kale after, stemming. Feel free to substitute 4 ounces of baby kale for the mature kale; if using, skip step 1. 8 ounces kale, stemmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
Jump to RecipeInstruction :
- Place kale in large bowl and cover with warm tap water (110 to 115 degrees). Swish kale around to remove grit. Let kale sit in warm water bath for 10 minutes. Remove kale from water and spin dry in salad spinner in multiple batches. Pat leaves dry with paper towels if still wet.
- Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon oil in 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Add mushrooms and ¼ teaspoon salt, cover, and cook until mushrooms have released their liquid, 4 to
6 minutes. Uncover and increase heat to medium-high. Stir in paprika, chili powder, and pepper and cook until mushrooms are golden, 4 to 6 minutes. Transfer to plate and let cool. - Whisk yogurt, blue cheese, garlic, lemon juice, remaining 3 tablespoons oil, and remaining ¼ teaspoon salt together in bowl until well combined. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Toss kale with ½ cup dressing, cover, and refrigerate for 20 minutes.
- Add radicchio to kale and toss to combine. Transfer greens to four individual serving plates and arrange cooled mushrooms, eggs, avocado, and tomatoes evenly over top. Drizzle remaining dressing over salads. Serve.
Super Cobb Salad
Ingredients
- 8 ounces kale stemmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
- ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil divided
- 8 ounces shiitake mushrooms stemmed and sliced thin
- ½ teaspoon table salt divided
- ⅛ teaspoon smoked paprika
- ⅛ teaspoon chili powder
- ⅛ teaspoon pepper
- ½ cup plain whole-milk yogurt
- 3 tablespoons crumbled blue cheese
- 1 garlic clove minced
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- ½ small head radicchio 3 ounces, cored and cut into ½- inch pieces
- 2 recipes Easy-Peel Hard-Cooked Eggs this page, quartered
- 1 avocado 8 ounces, halved, pitted, and cut into ½-inch pieces
- 4 ounces cherry tomatoes halved
Instructions
- Place kale in large bowl and cover with warm tap water (110 to 115 degrees). Swish kale around to remove grit. Let kale sit in warm water bath for 10 minutes. Remove kale from water and spin dry in salad spinner in multiple batches. Pat leaves dry with paper towels if still wet.
- Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon oil in 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Add mushrooms and ¼ teaspoon salt, cover, and cook until mushrooms have released their liquid, 4 to
- 6 minutes. Uncover and increase heat to medium-high. Stir in paprika, chili powder, and pepper and cook until mushrooms are golden, 4 to 6 minutes. Transfer to plate and let cool.
- Whisk yogurt, blue cheese, garlic, lemon juice, remaining 3 tablespoons oil, and remaining ¼ teaspoon salt together in bowl until well combined. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Toss kale with ½ cup dressing, cover, and refrigerate for 20 minutes.
- Add radicchio to kale and toss to combine. Transfer greens to four individual serving plates and arrange cooled mushrooms, eggs, avocado, and tomatoes evenly over top. Drizzle remaining dressing over salads. Serve.