Recipes

Cobb Salad Panzanella

With all the flavours of a Cobb salad and freshness of a bread salad, this delicious lunch salad is so hearty that you can serve it for dinner, too.

Serves:
4
Prep Time:
15 min
Cook Time:
20 min

Ingredients

  • 3 tbsp ( 45 mL ) olive oil
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 4 slices ciabatta loaf, about 1/2-inch (1 cm) thick
  • ½ lb ( 0.3 kg ) boneless skinless chicken breasts
  • ¼ tsp ( 1.25 mL ) each salt and freshly ground pepper
  • 4 cups ( 1 L ) torn romaine lettuce
  • 1 tomato, chopped
  • 1 cup ( 250 mL ) half-moon sliced cucumbers
  • 2 green onions, finely sliced
  • 1 small ripe avocado, peeled and chopped
  • 4 hard boiled eggs, peeled and sliced
  • ¼ cup ( 60 mL ) finely crumbled blue cheese
  • 4 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
  • ½ cup ( 125 mL ) ranch dressing

Instructions

  1. Preheat grill to medium heat; grease grate well. Stir olive oil with garlic; brush half over ciabatta slices. Season chicken with salt and pepper; toss with remaining garlic oil.
  2. Grill chicken until cooked through, approximately 5 to 7 minutes per side; let stand for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, grill bread until grill-marked and toasted, approximately 1 or 2 minutes per side. Chop grilled bread and chicken into 1-inch (2.5 cm) pieces.
  3. Toss together bread, chicken, lettuce, tomato, cucumbers and green onions. Divide among 4 plates; top with avocado, eggs, blue cheese and bacon. Drizzle with dressing.

Notes

Substitute cubes of Cheddar for blue cheese if desired.

This salad is just as delicious with Italian or balsamic vinaigrette.

This salad is great way to use leftover day-old bread; you can also use baguette, French or Italian loaf.