Italian-Inspired Cobb Salad

Cobb Salad has always been a favorite salad of mine. I love a good hearty salad (which a cobb definitely is), and I LOVE blue cheese, one of the staple ingredients of a good cobb salad. 

So one day, out of the blue (no pun intended), I decided to make my own cobb salad for this blog. The recipe I came up with definitely feels like a cobb salad, but I switched out many of the traditional ingredients for Italian ones. Crispy prosciutto instead of bacon, creamy gorgonzola instead of blue cheese, arugula instead of romaine, and an olive oil/balsamic dressing instead of a dijon vinaigrette. I kept the chicken, avocado, and cherry tomatoes in there, because I couldn't change everything, could I?! The end result is a beautiful, crisp, slightly bitter (from the arugula) salad. 

I not only love this salad because it's delicious, but I love it because I feel that this Italian cobb salad encapsulates who I am as a blogger.  Even though I focus on Italian food on this blog, I can't help but be inspired by the things that surround me in my hometown of Vancouver, BC. Almost every Vancouver restaurant has some form of cobb salad on it, so I just took it and made it more "me (ie. italalian)." 

So next time you have a hankering for a cobb salad, why not give this Itaian cobb salad a try? It will satisfy that cobb salad craving, but also be just be the right amount of different, and unexpected from the usual 🙂 

Recipe

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Italian Cobb Salad

An Italian take on a cobb salad. Crispy prosciutto instead of bacon, arugula instead of romaine, and olive oil and balsamic dressing instead of a dijon vinaigrette, the flavors combine beautifully to make a tasty salad!

Course Salad

Cuisine American, Italian

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 45 minutes minutes

Total Time 55 minutes minutes

Servings 2 people

Author Pina Bresciani

Ingredients

• 1 chicken breast, bone-in, skin on
• 3 slices prosciutto
• 4 cups (packed) arugula
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes, cut in half
• 1 cup gorgonzola, cut into small cubes
• 1 avocado, sliced
• 1.5 tablespoon olive oil plus more for drizzle
• 2 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
• salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Place chicken breast on a parchment-lined baking sheet and season with 2 teaspoon olive oil, salt and pepper. Place in the oven and roast for 40-45 minutes, or cooked through. Remove from the oven and let the chicken rest for 10 minutes. Remove the skin and shred the chicken with a fork. 
• While chicken is in the oven, place prosciutto slices on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes, or until crispy. Remove from the oven and break up the prosciutto by hand into pieces. 
• In a large bowl, season the arugula and tomatoes with 1 tablespoon olive oil and balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper. 
• Transfer seasoned arugula and tomatoes to a serving dish and top with chicken, prosciutto, gorgonzola, and avocado. Drizzle with additional olive oil, salt and pepper. Serve and enjoy!

Recipe Notes

I didn't add egg to this salad, like a traditional cobb salad, but feel free to add an egg if you wish!