Has it been a while since I shared a salad recipe? It sure feels like it, and in any event the time is right, with us being just one day into summer. I suppose I can manage the long journey to fall if the food is at least good. I love salad, but if I’m making a meal of it, it better be a seriously good salad. I love remakes of classics (check out my taco salad and Caesar salad recipes if you do too!). So I decided it was time to veganize the classic Cobb salad. Good decision! This salad is way better than the sum of its parts. I mean, I love coconut bacon, and crispy tofu, and avocados, chickpeas, and veggies. And the dressing was delicious upon taste-testing. But all of these things together turned out to be more amazingly delicious than I would’ve ever anticipated.
The dressing is a basic vegan Dijon vinaigrette. Dijon mustard, red wine vinegar, shallots and olive oil. Most Dijon vinaigrette recipes call for a ton of oil, but I replaced about half the amount of oil I’d normally use with water in order to lighten things up. (<– Tip: This works for most oil-heavy DIY salad dressings.)
In place of the bacon you’d find in a traditional Cobb salad, I used coconut bacon. It’s an awesome salad topper and gives just the right amount of crunch. Chickpeas replace chicken. And instead of eggs, I seasoned up some tofu to make it look and taste like eggs. Turmeric gives the tofu a bright yellow color, and kala namak, a.k.a. black salt, makes it taste eggy. You’ll dice up the tofu and pan-fry it in a bit of oil. Then, when it’s just starting to crisp, sprinkle it with a dash of lemon juice and your seasonings.
I skipped the blue cheese because (1) vegan blue cheese is something I’ve yet to figure out, and (2) this salad already has so much going on, I didn’t feel like it was needed. If you really want to, go right ahead and add in some of your favorite vegan store-bought cheese. I assembled my salad in one big bowl, but you could also arrange it in individual bowls for serving. Dress and dig in.
Tips for Making the Perfect Vegan Cobb Salad
If making this ahead, prep all of the ingredients except the avocado (which will turn brown shortly after being cut), and store them separately. You can slice the avocado and assemble the salad right before serving. This way things don’t get soggy! The eggy tofu calls for kala namak. This type of salt has a high sulfur content, so it’s great for making things taste like eggs! You can find it in most Indian grocery stores or online. To choose a perfectly ripe avocado, apply some gentle pressure with your fingers. It should give, but just a bit. Underripe avocados will be super firm, and overripe ones will squish. You can also try using the stem test.
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