Patricia Wells’ Cobb Salad with Yogurt and Lemon Dressing {50 Women In Food: #11 Patricia Wells}
Mary of One Perfect Bite and 15 other women bloggers (including myself) are blogging our way through the 50 Women Game Changers In Food published by Gourmet in May ’11. Some of the women on the list you will know, others you may not, but either way, this will be a great 50 week journey to learn more about these women that inspire the way we think about food today.
Please visit Mary at One Perfect Bite, Val at More Than Burnt Toast, Joanne at Eats Well With Others, Taryn at Have Kitchen Will Feed, Susan at The Spice Garden, Claudia at A Seasonal Cook In Turkey, Heather at Girlichef, Jeanette at Jeanette’s Healthy Living, April at Abby Sweets, Katie at Making Michael Poland Proud, Kathleen at Bake Away With Me, Viola at The Life is Good Kitchen, Sue at The View From Great Island, Barbara at Moveable Feasts, Kathleen at Gonna Want Seconds, and Amy at Beloved Green for their tributes to these 50 women.
Patricia Wells comes in at number 11 on the list. She is nothing short of amazing. An American food critic spending half of her time in Paris and the other half in Provence, she spends her days writing about French food. The way she speaks about food just pulls you in. I found myself reading through her cookbooks (especially The Provence Cookbook), not just for recipes, but for food knowledge. I learned quite a bit while I was perusing through.
It was not an easy feat to choose a dish, but I did settle on a salad from her cookbook, Salad as a Meal. The Cobb Salad that I chose was refreshing and not weighed down like I usually think of Cobb salads to be. It has been a long time since I had one actually, and I can remember chopped boiled eggs, lots of blue cheese and thick blue cheese dressing. I figured this was a great excuse to try one again.
The result: a light salad with a refreshing zing of blue cheese and tang of lemon. Set off by the contrasting creaminess of the avocado and the crunchiness of the bacon, this salad was much more than I expected. The pictures don’t do it justice. Try this salad, you won’t regret it.
Robert H. Cobb, owner of the Brown Derby restaurant in Hollywood, is said to have invented this salad in the 1930s as a late-night snack for himself. No wonder it has remained an American classic. With the crunch of the iceberg and onions, the soft richness of the avocado, the saltiness of the bacon, the sweetness of the tomato, and the bite of the blue cheese, this salad has it all! And it is beautiful to boot.
WINE SUGGESTION: This is a special salad, one that seems to hit the spot with all my guests, so let's open a nice, special bottle of smoky-style Alsatian Riesling from the house of Léon Beyer, Trimbach, or Hugel. Neither you nor your guests will be disappointed.
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 ounces smoked bacon, rind removed, cut into matchsticks (3/4 cup)
- 1 head iceberg lettuce, chopped (4 cups)
- 2 ripe heirloom tomatoes, cored, peeled, seeded, and chopped
- 1 large ripe avocado, halved, pitted, peeled, and cubed
- 4 ounces chilled blue cheese (preferably Roquefort), crumbled (1 cup)
- 4 small spring onions or scallions, white part only, trimmed, peeled, and cut into thin rounds
- Yogurt and Lemon Dressing (recipe follows)
- Coarse, freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup plain low-fat yogurt
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1/4 teaspoon Lemon Zest salt or fine sea salt
- Equipment: A small jar with a lid
Directions
- In the jar, combine the yogurt, lemon juice, and salt. Cover with the lid and shake to blend. Taste for seasoning. The dressing can be used immediately. (Store the dressing in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Shake to blend again before using.)
- In a large, dry skillet, brown the bacon over moderate heat until crisp and golden, about 5 minutes. With a slotted spoon, transfer the bacon to several layers of paper towels to absorb the fat. Blot the top of the bacon with several layers of paper towels to absorb any additional fat. Set aside.
- In a large, shallow bowl, combine the bacon, lettuce, tomatoes, avocado, cheese, and spring onions. Toss with just enough dressing to lightly and evenly coat the ingredients. Season generously with pepper, and serve.
This Recipe Linked To Some of These Blog Hops:
{Sun} Recipe Swap Sundays {Mon} Made By You Mondays, Recipe Sharing Monday {Tues} Tuesday Night Supper Club {Wed} These Chicks Cooked {Thurs} Full Plate Thursday {Fri} Fresh Food Fridays, Friday Potluck
In The Spotlight: Patricia Wells
(From Wikipedia) Patricia Wells (born 5 November 1946 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin) is a cookbook author and teacher who divides her time between Paris and Provence. Her book Patricia Wells at Home in Provence (1996) won the James Beard Award for Best International Cookbook. Wells is the only American and the only woman to be a restaurant critic for a major French publication, L’Express (1988–1991). She was also a restaurant critic for the International Herald Tribune from 1980 until 2007.
Satisfying, refreshing and delicious are 3 words that come to ming.
You nailed it.
I’m going to celebrate the waning days of summer with this salad!
I hope you get a chance to try it!
I ALMOST made this one! It looks soooo good. I will be trying it soon, I love cobb salad.and I loe the way it’s “formed”…so pretty
It was very good, I saw the one you made sounded similar- I will try that one too! As for the way I formed it, totally inspired by epicurious
Her book on salads would be such a good addition to my cookbook shelf! I eat far to few amd could use the added vitamins and minerals. To boot, I always seem to prepare the same salad types … thanks for this post!
Your presentation is so very nice!
I love salads too and tend to make the same dressings/salads too. Great cookbook.
This is a beautiful salad – I think you’ve convinced me to get her book!
The titles of the food just makes you want to make it all!
I am so happy you are conquering Patricia Wells this week because I have never heard of her and I need to come out from under my rock.
This challenge is bringing out knowledge of some great chefs! I love it.
The avocado in this salad sounds delightful. You’ve got me craving salad!
Craving salad is rare for most! I guess my job here is done!
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