It’s cobb salad! Without the vegetarian-unfriendly ingredients, that is.
But it’s still got plenty of good stuff! Back in the day I worked in an upscale fitness center cafe. I’m talking $7 protein shakes upscale. On the menu, we had a Cobb salad complete with tomatoes, avocado, egg, chicken, bacon, blue cheese, and cheddar cheese. Everyone hated making it. Well, everyone besides me.
Unlike a lot of other things on our menu, this dish could not simply be thrown together. Things had to be chopped, bacon needed to be cooked, and everything had to be arranged in neat, beautiful rows atop our salad blend. It was always a proud moment to hand one of those creations over to a customer.
Now I can make my own neat rows of Cobb salad whenever I want. Isn’t being an adult great?
Now classic Cobb salad is great an all, but isn’t constant improvement a critical element of the human experience? Enter dark, leafy greens: Red kale.
Red kale can be a little bit like a rescued dog. At first this dog might not seem like such a great idea. He’s a bit rough around the edges, hardened from his years on the streets. But after plenty of pets and love, he becomes the biggest softy you’ve ever met.
Red kale is JUST like that. No joke. After removing the rough stems, take some time to show your kale some love with a dash of salt and a well-earned massage. Afterward, you won’t even recognize it! The power of love is strong.
We’ve got homemade croutons and bbq sauce roasted chickpeas to replace the chicken and bacon. Don’t laugh, it totally works! the bbq sauce has a slightly smokey flavor, the croutons have that crunch… And although chickpeas don’t have as much protein as chicken, they still have a decent amount PLUS iron. I also added a little extra egg to make up for the rest of that missing protein.
Top it all off with an apple cider and honey vinaigrette. Ridiculously easy to make and absolutely delicious. I suggest eating this meal if you have an early run the next morning or for a big lunch to tide you over until you finish that post-work run. It won’t weigh you down, but it won’t leave you hungry either.
Don’t fear the salad, friends!
Kale cobb salad
Ingredients
For the salad
- 1 bunch red or green kale
- 1 avocado, chopped
- 1 tomato, chopped
- 2 slices thick bread, torn
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp salt and pepper
- 1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 1/4 cup barbecue sauce
- 1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese
- 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 4 hard boiled eggs, peeled and cut into eights
For the dressing
- 1 tbsp honey
- 3 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/8 cup olive oil
- salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
For the salad
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Preheat oven to 375 degrees
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Rinse the kale in cold water and separate the leaves from the stems. Chop or tear leaves into bite-sized pieces. Transfer to large bowl and sprinkle with about 1/2 teaspoon salt. Massage kale by gently mixing in the salt with your hands. Set aside.
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On a parchment paper-lined baking sheet, mix together torn bread, olive oil, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Bake for about ten minutes or until the bread is golden brown and crispy.
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Meanwhile, heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add chickpeas and barbecue sauce. Continue cooking until all the sauce sticks to the chickpeas, about 5 minutes.
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Divide the kale into two large bowls. Top with rows of cheddar cheese, croutons, eggs, tomatoes, avocado, chickpeas. Drizzle each salad with half the apple cider vinegar dressing.
For the dressing
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Combine the honey, apple cider vinegar, and garlic powder. While whisking, add the olive oil to emulsify. Add salt and pepper to taste.
