Recipes
Summer Chipotle Chicken Cobb Salad
If you flip through blogger Gaby Dalkin's new book, What's Gaby Cooking, you'll learn that she's not exactly a fan of normal Cobb salads. She's all about swapping out the more polarizing parts (looking at you, blue cheese) in favor of seasonal add-ins: Think sweet potatoes and beets for fall, and pomegranates and mandarins for winter. Dalkin highlights summertime-fine strawberries and sweet corn for this of-the-moment version, which comes together in a breeze and is perfect for summer entertaining.
Pickle any extra strawberries to make a unique toast topper, plus seven ways to keep the grilled summer salad ball rolling.
Summer Chipotle Chicken Cobb Salad
Yield: 4 to 6 servings
Prep Time: 20 minutes, plus marinating time
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes, plus marinating time
Ingredients
For the Lemon-Champagne Vinaigrette:
Juice of 1 lemon
1 tablespoon Champagne vinegar
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 shallot, finely chopped
⅓ cup olive oil
Kosher salt, to taste
Freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
For the Chicken:
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 chipotle chiles in adobo, finely chopped
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs (or 3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts)
For the Salad:
3 to 4 cups market greens
4 strips applewood-smoked bacon, cooked and crumbled
8 to 10 strawberries, hulled and quartered
2 ears corn on the cob, kernels removed in strips
1 to 2 ripe avocados—pitted, peeled and sliced
Kosher salt, to taste
Freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
Lemon-Champagne vinaigrette
Directions
1. Make the dressing: Combine all the ingredients in a small bowl and whisk to combine. Adjust the salt and pepper as needed. The dressing will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days (makes ⅔ cup).
2. Make the chicken: Combine the oil, chipotles, garlic powder, cumin, oregano, and black pepper in a small bowl. Place the chicken in a large zip-top bag and add the marinade. Zip the bag and mix the chicken into the marinade to coat. Place in the refrigerator and let it marinate for at least 1 hour and up to 8 hours.
3. Heat an outdoor grill or grill pan to about 400°F. Place the chicken on the grill and cook for 5 to 6 minutes on each side, until the chicken is cooked through. Remove from the grill and let rest for 10 minutes. Slice the chicken against the grain.
4. Make the salad: Arrange the greens on a large platter and top with the bacon, strawberries, corn, avocado and grilled chicken, and season with salt and pepper. Toss with the vinaigrette to serve.
