Even though most salads are considered light fare, a Cobb salad is substantial enough to make a one-dish meal. Created by Bob Cobb in the 1920s at the Brown Derby restaurant in Los Angeles, it has become a classic that New Englanders enjoy, too. Its combination of salad greens, tomatoes, avocados, chicken, bacon, blue cheese, and hard-boiled eggs supplies you with plenty of vegetables and protein.

Ingredients:

Red Wine and Herb Vinaigrette:
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 clove garlic, minced
1/8 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon dried basil
2 dashes Tabasco sauce
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Salad:
1 head green leaf lettuce, washed and torn into bite-size pieces
1 pound cooked boneless chicken breast, diced into bite-sized pieces
2 avocados, peeled and diced
1 large tomato, diced
4 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and chopped into small pieces
1/4 cup diced red onion
1/2 cup peeled and diced cucumber
6 to 8 slices crisp-cooked bacon, crumbled
1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese
1/2 cup alfalfa sprouts
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Red Wine and Herb Vinaigrette, as needed (from recipe)

Directions:

For the red wine and herb vinaigrette: Place the olive oil, vinegar, garlic, sugar, oregano, basil, Tabasco sauce, salt, and pepper in a glass jar with a lid. Cover and shake well. Shake again right before using. Store leftovers in the refrigerator.

For the salad: Line the bottom of a large (about 12 inches in diameter) serving plate with the lettuce. In the middle, arrange the chicken in a row. Arrange the avocados in a row next to the chicken. Arrange the tomato on the other side of the chicken. Continue to arrange in rows the eggs, onion, cucumber, bacon, blue cheese, and sprouts. Sprinkle the top of the salad with parsley, salt, and pepper. Drizzle with red wine and herb vinaigrette.

Makes 4 to 6 servings. Make your salad more interesting by choosing a specialty bacon, such as smoked applewood. Blue cheese also comes in many varieties, from Italian Gorgonzola to French Roquefort. Ask the manager of the cheese department at your local grocery for a recommendation. Whatever you choose will give your salad a personal finishing touch.