My Cobb Salad with Hard Boiled Egg Yolk Dressing

Here at The Shortlists’ mother den, things can get a little out of control. Annual homeward migrations mean nonstop runs of long, boozy dinners in and out. It also means that I try to take full advantage of my parents’ kitchen, which would meet the needs of any professional chef and therefore more than meets mine.

Here at The Shortlists’ mother den, things can get a little out of control. Annual homeward migrations mean nonstop runs of long, boozy dinners in and out. It also means that I try to take full advantage of my parents’ kitchen, which would meet the needs of any professional chef and therefore more than meets mine.

Plus, we have some serious eating planned for the next few days (Jasper White’s Summer Shack, BBQ, a dinner party for 25), so, to keep our sanity and top buttons intact, we opted for a night of salad (followed by a cheese course, cake and eggnog, but that’s beside the point really).

Sadly, one of my favorite salads – the Cobb – hasn’t made it across the Pacific yet and besides, Francesco wouldn’t eat it unless, and I quote, “it was the last thing to eat on a deserted island.” Needless to say, I don’t get to eat it very often. The Cobb is perfect for people like my father who say they just want to eat a light salad but what they really mean is that salad = light no matter how much bacon and bleu cheese you put into it. It’s also perfect when you just want to use up those last few yellow tomatoes or avocados and don’t really know what to make. Or when you don’t want to get pots and pans dirty. Or when you reach the point – as we have – when, for the sake of sanity and top buttons, you should probably reign it in a bit. But not so much that you can’t have a little bacon on top.

MY COBB SALAD WITH HARDBOILED EGG YOLK DRESSING

This recipe is not really a recipe at all; think of it more like a list of suggestions. The dressing, though, is a definite keeper. If you, like me, hate the texture of hard boiled egg yolks, this is the perfect way to use them without having to know they’re there.

Serves 4ish

COBB SALAD:

lots of chopped romaine or baby spinach leaves

3 tomatoes, chopped roughly

2 avocados, chopped

4 rashers bacon, chopped

2 eggs, hard boiled (whites separated from yolks)

1 small chunk blue cheese, crumbled

3/4 cup chickpeas

3/4 cup frozen corn, defrosted

1 cup croutons

DRESSING:

2 hardboiled egg yolks

1/2 cup olive oil

juice from 1/2 lemon

1 – 2 tsp Montreal spice (or salt & pepper to taste)

To prepare the salad, fry up the bacon over medium heat until crispy. Meanwhile, place the salad leaves in a very large serving bowl. Arrange the chopped tomatoes, avocados, hardboiled egg whites, corn, chickpeas, cheese, croutons and crispy bacon in small groups on top.

In a small bowl, mash the hardboiled egg yolks with a fork then add the other dressing ingredients and whisk together for a few seconds until creamy. Pour over salad and serve at the table. Toss before serving onto plates.