Cobb Salad Recipe (and how to plate it so it’s gorgeous)

This Cobb Salad Recipe is not only incredibly delicious and easy to make, it’s gorgeous, too!

One of the things I often hear when talking to people about cooking is “Oh, I could never do what you do.” Which always strikes me, because either I don’t think highly enough of what I do or they think too low of what they’re capable of.

It’s probably somewhere in the middle.

The one thing I do know is that presentation plays a major part in a great dish. Take this cobb salad recipe, for example. There are no special or exotic ingredients in it, it’s just your run-of-the-mill cobb salad recipe. But it looks like a salad you’d be served in a five star restaurant.

You don’t need any special equipment to achieve it. You can purchase food rings – the ones I own work really well and they’re fairly inexpensive – but I’ve been told that a can with both ends removed will do the same thing. A few things to keep in mind when stacking your salads:

• Think about the colors and textures of each layer. I chose vibrant red tomatoes for the first layer in this cobb salad recipe to contrast with the color of the plate.
• Decide what layer will look best on the top. I could have easily switched the avocado and bacon layers, but I like the bright green on the very top. It ties in the green from the lettuce layer above the tomatoes. The texture is also important. I chose to dice the avocado because I liked the chunky look for our casual lunch, but thinly sliced and fanned over the top would add an elegant touch.
• Adding a small amount of dressing to certain foods will help them “stick” better. I did this with the lettuce and not one piece fell out.
• Use a large enough plate so that when the stack falls there’s room for the food. The plate I used for this cobb salad recipe is actually a bit too small, but the photographer side of me really wanted that particular plate!
• Tamper each layer as you go. Pressing the food into compact layers will ensure it stays together.
• Be sure to lift the ring straight up when removing it.
• Have fun with it! What’s the worst that could happen? It’s just dinner.

Here’s an example of another salad made using this technique: Tarragon Lemon Salad with Fresh Crab and Avocado

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Cobb Salad Recipe (and how to plate it so it's GORGEOUS)

Yield: 0

Quick tip: If I have roughly a cup of mayo left in the jar, I’ll add all the other ingredients to the jar and use that as my container. All you have to do is shake it and there’s no dirty bowl!

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Ingredients

Salad

• 12 very large cherry tomatoes, sliced
• 1 1/2 cups chopped romaine lettuce
• 1 1/2 cups cooked, diced rotisserie chicken
• 4 hard-boiled eggs, diced
• 1/2 cup blue cheese crumbles
• 1 cup crumbled bacon
• 2 avocados, diced

Dressing

• 1 cup good-quality mayonnaise
• 1 cup sour cream
• 4 oz blue cheese, crumbled
• a few dashes worcestershire sauce
• 3/4 t kosher salt
• freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

1. Make the dressing: Mix together mayo, sour cream, 4 oz. blue cheese crumbles, worcestershire, kosher salt and pepper. Place in fridge for at least an hour to let flavors meld.
2. Place a ring onto a plate and add the ingredients in the order listed above (divide amounts for four salads). Mix a tablespoon of dressing with the lettuce before layering to ensure that it stays in place.
3. Tamper layers after each addition. Use some pressure but don’t press so hard that ingredients lose their shape. Carefully remove ring, garnish and serve immediately.

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Kristy Bernardo

Kristy Bernardo is the recipe creator behind The Wicked Noodle. She's a five-time cookbook author, has taught cooking classes to both kids and adults, and has been creating recipes for nationwide brands since 2009. She learned most of her cooking skills from her mom and grandmother, then honed those skills at boot camp at the Culinary Institute of America.

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