June 3, 2021
Regional West Coast Inspired Salads: Cobb and Mexican-Inspired Chopped
THIS POST IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY NATURESWEET TOMATOES. ALL THOUGHTS, OPINION, AND TEXT ARE MY OWN.THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR SUPPORTING THE SPONSORS WHO KEEP ME HUNGRY & INSPIRED TO CREATE!
Nothing says summertime quite like a bright, crisp, fresh salad … and the West Coast has some of the best to offer! Since we haven’t been able to travel this past year due to the pandemic, I’m bringing you two of my favorite West-Coast style salad recipes to enjoy at home!
Take a Flavorful Trip To the west coast Without Even Leaving Your Kitchen!
A few things that are savored coast to coast: the love of fresh and seasonal produce, trying new recipes when the seasons change, and enjoying those amazing recipes with loved ones. Before Covid, all my vacations were centered around the food (anyone else?). In case you’re the same and planned on taking a trip to the sunny West Coast, but can’t just yet, I want to share two of my favorite West Coast-Inspired Summer Salads with ya’ll:
The Cobb Salad – Native to Hollywood, this salad is filled with juicy NatureSweet tomatoes, creamy Avocados From Mexico, RealSweet® Vidalia® onions, fluffy tofu scramble, vegan chick’n, and crispy bac’n bits all on a bed of Romaine topped with homemade ranch dressing. Just one bite and you’ll be transported to the West Coast in no time!
Mexican-Inspired Chopped Salad – filled with juicy NatureSweet tomatoes, creamy Avocados From Mexico, RealSweet® Vidalia® onions, roasted sweet corn, black beans and radish on a bed of romaine lettuce tossed in zesty cilantro-lime dressing and topped with vegan quest fresco! Just one bite and you’ll have a taste of this Baja-Style salad without having to leave the comfort of your own home!
What Do These Salads Have To Do with the west coast?
As mentioned above, the Cobb Salad was invented in Hollywood, California in the late 1930’s at the Brown Derby restaurant. It’s said that owner, Bob Cobb, hadn’t eaten all day after a full shift of working. At around midnight, he mixed a bunch of ingredients that were left over from the day, tossed in some dressing, and voila! The Cobb Salad was born. There are tons of variations of this classic West Coast salad, including my vegan-friendly version, and for good reason! If you ever come to the West Coast, you have to have a Cobb!
The Mexican-Inspired Chopped salad was influenced by West Coast roots in Mexican culture and cuisine. While this is by no means an authentic Mexican recipe, the flavors and ingredients are bright, bold, and bursting with flavor! It reminds me of sitting on the beach in Baja with a cold drink in hand.
How To Make These Salads?:
I love these salads because they highlight fresh and seasonal produce, and each has a great variety of textures and flavors going on! And the best part is that they are so easy to prepare!
Each of the salads require a bit of cook time (tofu scramble for the Cobb, and roasted corn for the Chopped), it’s as easy as 1, 2, 3. Here’s what you’ll need to do:
- First prepare the dressings by combining all their ingredients in a food processor. Pulse until smooth, taste and adjust seasonings, and set aside.
- Next, chop all your salad ingredients.
- Last, toss with two-thirds of the dressing, plate, and enjoy!
It’s that simple! You can even skip tossing the salad altogether if you want to meal-prep the salads. Each of the dressings will stay good for up to a week stored in the refrigerator.
How’d You Like A Little Taste of the west coast?
I hope you love these West Coast-Style salad recipes as much as I do! If you give either (or hopefully both) of them a try, I’d love to know! Snap a photo or a video of you enjoying your West Coast-Inspired Salads featuring NatureSweet, upload it to Instagram, and tag me at @eat_figs_not_pigs and #EatFigsNotPigs! I love seeing all your recreations of my recipes and hearing what you think! Til next time, friends!
XOXO!
Regional California-Style Salads: Cobb and Mexican-Inspired Chopped
Ingredients
VEGAN COBB SALAD:
- !Vegan Ranch Dressing:
- ½ cup vegan mayonnaise
- ½ cup unsweetened and unflavored non-dairy milk
- 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon dried dill weed
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon salt and pepper plus more to taste
- !Tofu Scramble:
- 1 16-ounce block extra-firm tofu, drained
- ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
- ¼ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon Himalayan black salt aka kala namak (*see recipe notes)
- !Salad:
- 6 cups roughly chopped romaine lettuce about 1 medium head
- 1 batch vegan ranch dressing recipe above
- 1 batch tofu scramble recipe above
- 1 cup NatureSweet Cherubs tomatoes
- 8 ounces vegan chick’n pieces cooked according to package directions
- ½ cup vegan-friendly bac’n pieces *see recipe notes
- 1 small RealSweet® Vidalia Onion thinly sliced
- 1 large Avocado From Mexico thinly sliced
MEXICAN-INSPIRED CHOPPED SALAD:
- !Cilantro-Lime Dressing:
- ½ packed cup roughly chopped fresh cilantro
- ½ cup vegan mayonnaise
- ¼ cup unsweetened and unflavored non-dairy milk
- ¼ cup fresh lime juice about 1 small lime
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 teaspoon dried Mexican oregano
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon salt and pepper plus more to taste
- !Salad:
- 6 cups roughly chopped romaine lettuce about 1 medium head
- 1 batch cilantro-lime dressing recipe above
- 1 15-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 ½ cups roasted corn kernels from about 2 ears of corn, or 1 (15-ounce) can can of corn, drained and rinsed
- 1 pint NatureSweet Cherubs tomatoes
- 1 small RealSweet® Vidalia Onion thinly sliced
- 1 large Avocado From Mexico thinly sliced
- 3-4 radishes thinly sliced
- Vegan ricotta or feta cheese such as Kite Hill or Violife
Instructions
VEGAN COBB SALAD:
- For the dressing, whisk together all its ingredients in a bowl. Taste and adjust seasonings if necessary. Set aside.
- For the tofu scramble, crumble the tofu into a bowl using your hands. Season it with the turmeric and pepper, tossing to coat. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the tofu and cook, stirring occasionally, until the tofu is warmed through and starts to brown, 7-10 minutes. Turn off the heat, season the tofu with the black salt, stirring to incorporate, and set aside to cool.
- To assemble the salad, toss the lettuce in a large bowl with two-thirds of the ranch dressing. Put the dressed greens in a large serving dish. Carefully spoon on the tofu scramble, tomatoes, chick’n and bac’n. Add the onions and avocado and serve with the remaining dressing on the side. ENJOY!
MEXICAN-INSPIRED CHOPPED SALAD:
- For the dressing, place all the ingredients in a food processor and pulse until smooth, Taste and adjust seasonings if necessary. Set aside.
- To assemble the salad, toss the lettuce in a large bowl with two-thirds of the cilantro-lime dressing.
- Put the dressed greens in a large serving dish and top with the black beans, corn, tomatoes, onion, avocado and radish. Garnish with crumbled vegan cheese and serve alongside the remaining dressing. Enjoy!
Notes
