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Cobb Salad with Balsamic Shallot Vinaigrette

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Cobb Salad with Balsamic Shallot VinaigretteBen Fink

It is a salad, but cobb salad was never meant to be a healthful or low-fat dish. Because Ryan Howard is a conscientious eater, however, this version is a lighter version that still packs some punch from the familiar flavors of the original. Use reduced-fat blue cheese and turkey bacon, serve the dressing on the side, and dig into this classic mega-salad.

Recipe information

  • Yield

    Makes 4 servings

Ingredients

Balsamic shallot vinaigrette

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons minced shallots

Salad

2 8-ounce skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 8-ounce romaine hearts, washed, dried, and torn into bite-sized pieces
2 large ripe tomatoes, seeded and diced
2 ripe avocados, pitted, peeled, and diced
8 strips turkey bacon, cooked and coarsely chopped
2 hard-boiled eggs, coarsely chopped
1 cup (4 ounces) crumbled reduced-fat blue cheese

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    1 To make the vinaigrette, combine the vinegar, salt, and pepper in a blender. With the machine running, gradually add the oil. Add the shallots and pulse briefly to combine. Pour into a serving bowl and set aside.

    Step 2

    2 Pound each chicken breast half between 2 heavy duty plastic bags with a flat meat pounder to an even 1/2-inch thickness. Season with the salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Add the chicken and cook, turning halfway through cooking, until golden brown on both sides, about 6 minutes. Add ¼ cup water, reduce the heat to medium-low, and cover. Simmer until the chicken feels firm when pressed in the center, about 8 minutes. Uncover, increase the heat to high, and cook until the liquid is evaporated and the chicken is sizzling, about 1 minute. Transfer chicken to a carving board and let cool. Cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces.

    Step 3

    3 Spread the lettuce on a large platter. Top with the chicken, tomatoes, avocados, bacon, hard-boiled eggs, and blue cheese arranged in rows. Serve immediately, with the vinaigrette passed on the side.

Adapted from Diamond Dishes by Julie Loria (Lyons Press/ $24.95) Excerpts copyright 2011 by Julie Loria, with permission of Lyons Press
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