Lobster Cobb Salad Recipe
This Lobster Cobb Salad with Avocado Green Goddess Dressing recipe draws inspiration from the original Cobb Salad created at the Brown Derby restaurant in Hollywood, tweaks it by charring the cooked ingredients and throwing everything onto an epic platter. Most Cobb Salad dressings are a simple base of red wine vinegar, but because we're dipping here instead of dressing, we're making a Green Goddess that uses avocado for the smoothness factor.
Course: Appetizer, Main Course, Salad
Cuisine: American, California
Keyword: avocado, cobb, lobster, salad board, seafood
Servings: 4 servings
- 2 large firm-ripe California avocados allot ½ avocado per person
- 2 ears of corn shucked and silk removed
- 2 1½- to 2- pound whole Maine lobsters boiled or steamed
- 1 package bacon cooked (about 12 slices)
- 4 eggs hard boiled and sliced in half lengthwise
- 1 pound heirloom tomatoes sliced into wedges or rounds, and/or
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes sliced in half
- 4 small lemons cut into halves
- 2 Persian cucumbers thinly sliced
- 1 cup sugar snap peas
- ½ cup pickled red onions
- ¾ cup blue or feta cheese crumbled
- 4-6 cups greens arugula, frisée, romaine lettuce, watercress or any combination
- 2 cups Avocado Goddess Dressing see below
- chopped fresh herbs like basil chives, dill, and parsley
- ¼ cup melted butter for lobster
- optional ingredients to include on board: sliced fresh red onions, pickled peppadew peppers, olives, capers or caperberries
Grill Avocado, Corn, and Lobsters
Heat grill to medium-high.
Slice each avocado in half lengthwise and remove pit. Rub the cut sides of the avocados, including the "divot" from the pit, with grapeseed or other neutral, high-smokepoint oil.
Rub shucked ears of corn with oil.
Place avocados cut side down, and corn, on hot grill. Cook the avocados and the corn for 8-10 minutes, until dark grill marks appear on the avocado. Do not move the avocados around on the grill. Rotate the corn every few minutes so they grill on all side. Remove avocados and corn from grill onto a plate and set aside to cool.
Cut each cooked lobster in half lengthwise, all the way through the shells. Rub the cut sides with grapeseed or other neutral, high-smokepoint oil. Place lobster halves cut side down on grill. Allow the lobsters to develop color, 8-10 minutes. Do not move the lobsters around except to peek underneath for grill marks. Remove from grill onto a plate and set aside to cool while assembling the remaining ingredients for the salad.
Grilled avocado, bacon, corn, and whole, peeled cooked eggs can be cooked a day ahead and kept in the refrigerator overnight. Simply take them out of the fridge an hour or so before to take the chill off.
Assemble the Lobster Cobb Salad
Place the grilled avocado, corn, and lobsters on a very large serving platter or board.
Arrange the cooked bacon, cooked eggs, tomatoes, lemons, cucumbers, snap peas, pickled red onions, cheese, and any other optional salad ingredients you might be using artfully around the avocados and lobsters on the board. Dress the greens very lightly dressed with the Avocado Goddess Dressing, then tuck handfuls of the dressed greens into spaces between the other ingredients on the board.
(Optionally, you can serve the greens from a separate bowl.)
Hit everything with black pepper and chopped fresh herbs including parsley.
Serve Lobster Cobb Salad with Avocado Goddess dressing in small bowls alongside, awesome crusty grilled bread with soft salty butter, and bottles of rosé. Everyone gets to dive in and make a plate for themselves.