Summer Cobb Salad

From the blog For Love of the Table

I am giving the ingredients and the quantities for the salad I made recently for two. These quantities were perfect for us...but they might not be perfect for you. Multiply and alter the quantities and relative ratios of each of the ingredients as you prefer and choose a platter that is shallow and wide. Start out with a base—spread over the whole patter—of well dressed greens. As is evident from the pictures, I like to create a symmetrical platter of items...but classically, each ingredient only appears in one strip. If you have equal quantities of each ingredient, this approach works well...but if you have a lot more of one or two ingredients, laying them out in two places at opposite sides of the platter is very attractive.

1 split chicken breast—about 10 to 12 oz.

1 T. red wine vinegar

1 T. sherry vinegar

1 small shallot, finely diced (about 1 T.)

1/3 c. olive oil

Salt & pepper

1 to 2 T. minced flat leaf parsley (optional)

3 oz. trimmed Romaine hearts, cut cross-wise in 1/2-inch ribbons

1/2 of a large avocado, peeled, pitted and diced

1 large or 2 small vine ripened tomatoes (about 7 oz.), diced or cut into wedges

1 1/4 to 1 1/2 cups (about 7 oz) roasted corn kernels (see note)

3 oz. bacon, sliced cross-wise and cooked until crisp (or simply cook the strips and crumble when cool)

Rub the chicken with a light coating of olive oil and season generously with salt and pepper. Place the chicken in a baking dish and roast in a 450° to 475° oven until the skin is crisp and golden and an instant read thermometer inserted in the thickest portion reads 150° to 155°--about 25 to 30 minutes. (The chicken will easily reach the safe temperature of 160° as it rests.) As the chicken roasts, regulate the oven temperature to maintain an active sizzle. Remove the chicken from the oven and let sit until cool enough to handle. If desired, deglaze the baking pan with water. Degrease and reserve the resulting jus. When the chicken has cooled, remove the skin and bones and discard. Dice or shred the meat into bite-sized chunks. Toss with jus if you deglazed the pan. Set aside or chill if not using right away.

While the chicken cools, make the vinaigrette and gather/prepare the remaining ingredients. To make the vinaigrette, place the shallot, vinegars, and a couple of good pinches of salt and some pepper in a bowl and let sit 5 minutes. Whisk in the olive oil. Taste for balance and seasoning. Correct as necessary. Rewhisk before using.

Season and dress the greens with the vinaigrette and a scattering of parsley. Spread the greens over the platter. Similarly season and dress separately the chicken, corn, tomatoes and avocado. As you dress them, arrange them in strips on top of the greens. Place the bacon in a strip that runs perpendicular to all of the other strips. Serve, passing more dressing on the side.

Note: To roast corn, place the corn (in the husk) in a preheated 375° oven. Roast for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and remove the husks as soon as you are able to handle the corn. Cool and cut the kernels away from the cob. A large ear of corn will produce 1 to 1 1/2 cups of kernels.

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As published on forloveofthetable.com