Classic Cobb Salad

Unless you were ever lucky enough to eat at the Brown Derby Restaurant in Los Angeles, you have probably never really had a real Cobb Salad. I haven’t had one (in a restaurant) exactly like it since I had the chance to dine there quite a long time ago. In fact, I went there on the same trip that I wrote about a month or two ago–about the memorable avocado soup I enjoyed at the Biltmore Hotel. Same trip—I barely remember the reason for my business trip—but I remember that I brought home two recipes that would become favorites.

The restaurant, which unfortunately is now closed, was really an interesting place. First of all it was shaped like a….brown derby. The story goes that movie legend Gloria Swanson’s husband was talking one night about what a party town Hollywood was in the 1920s. He supposedly said, “You could open a restaurant in an alley and call it anything. If the food and service were good, the patrons would just come flocking. It could be called something as ridiculous as the Brown Derby.” True or not, it’s a cute story.

Now I will tell you the secret to making this extraordinary salad. The Cobb salad that we get in restaurants today tastes good—but is nothing like the original. The secret, the trick to making this really special—is to make sure that everything is very finely chopped. Not chopped into 1-inch pieces or even ½ inch pieces—more like ¼ inch pieces. It looks beautiful this way—and even more important, you won’t believe how amazing it is when you stir it up. It comes together so easily—almost like a relish—and everyone you serve it to will just gobble it up. Granted it takes some time to chop everything like this (you really cannot do this in a food processor)—but if you put on some nice music, and give yourself an hour or so, you can make a really special dish the way it was meant to be.

Classic Cobb Salad

½ head Romaine lettuce
½ head Iceberg lettuce
1 bunch watercress
1 small bunch chicory
2 medium tomatoes, peeled and seeded
6 strips of bacon, cooked until crisp
2 breasts of chicken, cooked, skin removed
3 hard-boiled eggs
1 avocado, peeled and pitted
½ cup crumbled Roquefort or blue cheese
2 tablespoons chopped chives
½ to 1 cup Cobb Salad Dressing

Chop the romaine, iceberg, watercress and chicory finely and spread evenly over the bottom of a large salad bowl.

Finely chop the tomatoes, bacon, chicken, eggs and crumbled cheese in strips across the greens. Finely chop the avocado and arrange around the edge of the salad. Sprinkle the top with the chopped chives.

Just before serving, add ½ cup of the dressing to the salad and toss. Taste, and add more dressing if needed.

Cobb Salad Dressing

¼ cup water
¼ cup red wine vinegar
¼ teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 teaspoons salt
¾ teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
¼ teaspoon dry English mustard
1 garlic clove, finely mined
¼ cup olive oil
¾ cup vegetable oil

Whisk all of the ingredients together except for the oils. Add the oils and whisk until well blended. Whisk or stir again before mixing with the salad.

Note: I frequently make the salad a couple of hours ahead of time and refrigerate it. If you want to do this, just leave off the avocado—and peel and chop it right before you serve—that way it won’t turn brown.