Kitchen Little Essentials
For this Springtime Roasted Cobb Salad recipe, you will need:
When it comes to the types of recipes that I could, quite literally, enjoy every day – this one sits atop the heap. It is a testament to the seemingly universal truth that roasted things are better than not roasted things. Ahem. A crisp, fresh and highly flavorful Roasted Cobb Salad might just be the frontrunner in my favorite spring recipes, if for no other reason(s) than its trifecta of perfection:
- It’s so healthy, what with all of those fresh vegetables.
- Layered and packed with myriad colors and textures, it is truly beautiful to look at.
- It’s brilliantly simple to put together but somehow appears to be much more trouble than it actually is.
Let’s talk a little more about point three now, shall we?
Alright. So, with a locked and loaded salad such as this, one might be a little intimidated, shying away from actually giving it a try because there are so many moving parts. I get that, and I also don’t want to spend forever and a day making a salad, preparing and fussing with each of its many components. Nope. No thank you.
But! I’ve written this recipe with a low maintenance, laid back attitude in mind and I am here to tell you that every single vegetable AND the chicken go into the oven at the same time and they are all also done roasting at the same time. While those things roast, you can boil your eggs, cook your bacon, and stir together the dressing (which is the simplest, and takes barely 60 seconds to make).
So you see, this salad is – and I say this in the best possible way – so much LESS than what it seems. It takes significantly less effort than it looks like it would, and the payoff is substantial. It’s a perfect thing to make for lunch OR dinner and it’s great for a family meal or for easy entertaining. When you set out a big beautiful, prismatic platter of this Springy Roasted Cobb Salad, people will ooh and aah over how you’ve just really outdone yourself this time.
But you and I will know the truth …. and I promise not to tell if you won’t.
Springtime Roasted Cobb Salad
- Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
3 TBSP extra virgin olive oil divided
Salt and pepper to taste
6 strips of bacon cooked and chopped
2 cups sugar snap peas
6 to 8 radishes halved
2 large carrots I like to use rainbow carrots
1 bunch of asparagus. Trimmed and chopped into 1” pieces
4 cups mixed salad greens give or take here
1 avocado thinly sliced
4 hard or soft-boiled eggs halved
1/3 cup crumbled blue cheese
For the Creamy Garlic and Herb Dressing
4 oz. creamy garlic and herb cheese such as Alouette
½ cup mayonnaise
½ cup sour cream
Salt and pepper to taste
Milk or buttermilk to taste (I use about 2 TBSP)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. Cover a small to medium sheet pan with aluminum foil and place the chicken breasts on the pan. Drizzle with 1 TBSP of the oil and season well with salt and pepper.
- On a second large baking sheet, arrange the asparagus pieces, snap peas, radishes, and carrots. Season to taste with salt and pepper and drizzle with the remaining 2 Tbsp olive oil. Toss everything to coat in the oil and to disperse the seasoning. Along with the pan of chicken, place the baking sheet of veggies into the preheated oven. If your oven isn’t big enough to accommodate the pans side by side on the same rack, place the veggies on a lower rack.
- Roast everything for 22 minutes, tossing the veggies once, halfway through. When you remove the chicken from the oven, wrap the foil all around it, so it can carryover cook for about 10 minutes before slicing into strips.
- To serve, arrange some greens on a large platter. Top with the sliced chicken, avocado, vegetables, bacon, boiled eggs, and crumbled blue cheese. Serve with the dressing on the side, and enjoy.
For the dressing
- In a medium bowl or liquid measuring cup, combine the creamy garlic and herb cheese, mayo, and sour cream. Season with salt and pepper and think it out with a little milk until it’s reached a consistency you like.
