Cracking Cobb salad
Shredded chicken & rich blue cheese dressing
1 hr
Not Too Tricky
serves 4
Ingredients
2 free-range chicken thighs, skin on, bone in
1 large pinch of sweet smoked paprika
olive oil
4 slices of higher-welfare pancetta
2 large free-range eggs
1 Romaine, cos or soft round lettuce
1 ripe avocado
2 ripe tomatoes or 125g ripe cherry tomatoes
1 punnet of salad cress
DRESSING
50g Stilton
½ a bunch of fresh chives (15g)
extra virgin olive oil
1 lemon
50ml buttermilk
2 tablespoons Greek yoghurt
½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
Method
Cobb salad is a classic American staple. It has amazing texture and flavour – crunchy Romaine lettuce, silky-smooth avo, tangy blue cheese dressing, juicy roast chicken, and even a crumbling of crispy bacon! This is a great dish to make for a crowd – you can chop it up and serve it ready to go, as I have done here, or you could let people mix, chop and dress their own plates – a bit of kitchen table DIY always goes down well.
- Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF/gas 4.
- Place the chicken thighs into a small roasting tray. Sprinkle over the paprika, and a good pinch of sea salt and black pepper, then drizzle over a little olive oil and toss to coat.
- Roast for 35 to 40 minutes, or until golden and cooked through, laying over the pancetta for the final 10 minutes. Leave to cool slightly.
- Lower the eggs into a pan of vigorously simmering water and boil for 5½ minutes for soft-boiled, or to your liking, then refresh under cold water until cool enough to handle, and peel.
- Crumble the Stilton into a large jug. Finely chop and add the chives, along with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. Squeeze in the lemon juice and add the remaining dressing ingredients. Whisk well, season to taste with salt and pepper, then pop in the fridge until needed.
- Remove and discard any tatty outer leaves from the lettuce, then trim and roughly chop the rest.
- Halve, destone and scoop the avocado flesh onto a board. Roughly chop the tomatoes and peeled eggs, then, using a large knife, bring it all into the centre of the board and start chopping and mixing it together.
- Shred the chicken meat, discarding the bones and skin, then add to the salad. Crumble over the crispy pancetta and continue chopping and mixing together.
- Transfer the salad to a nice platter, drizzle over the blue cheese dressing and snip over the cress, then serve.
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