Cobb Salad gets its name from Robert Cobb, owner of the Brown Derby restaurant in Los Angeles and first cousin of baseball great Ty Cobb. The story goes that he was browsing through the refrigerator late one night, looking for a snack, and could only find bits and pieces of leftovers—which he chopped up and turned into a salad. The rest is history. Here’s a version of Cobb Salad that was put together with a little more thought—and a lot fewer calories.

　　

Ingredients

serves 4

　　9 ounces (about 10 cups) sweet lettuce mix

　　8 ounces grilled chicken breast, sliced

　　1 large red heirloom tomato, cut into medium dice

　　3 scallions (white and green parts), sliced thin on the diagonal

　　1/2 ripe avocado, sliced thin

　　Salt and freshly ground black pepper

　　1/4 cup real bacon bits, such as Hormel Real Bacon Bits

　　1/2 cup crumbled reduced-fat blue cheese, such as Treasure Cove

　　6 tablespoons Not So Basic Vinaigrette (page 204) or store-bought light oil and vinegar dressing, such as Ken’s Steak House Healthy Options Olive Oil & Vinegar

　　

Step 1

Divide the lettuce evenly among 4 large dinner plates. Arrange the sliced chicken on top of the lettuce. Scatter the tomatoes and scallions over the chicken, and arrange the avocado slices on top of the salads. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

　　

Step 2

Scatter the bacon bits and blue cheese over the salads. Drizzle with salad dressing, and serve.

　　

nutrition information

Step 3

Fat: 71g (before), 11.3g (after)

　　

Step 4

Calories: 1,090 (before), 235 (after)

　　

Step 5

Protein: 24g

　　

Step 6

Carbohydrates: 11g

　　

Step 7

Cholesterol: 52mg

　　

Step 8

Fiber: 3g

　　

Step 9

Sodium: 1,081mg

　　Now Eat This by Rocco DiSpirito. Copyright © 2010 by Rocco DiSpirito. Published by Random House Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved.Hailed as the "Leading Chef of his Generation" by Gourmet magazine, Rocco DiSpirito received the James Beard Award for his first cookbook, Flavor. He went on to author Rocco's Italian-American (2004), Rocco's Five Minute Flavor (2005), Rocco's Real-Life Recipes (2007), and Rocco Gets Real (2009). DiSpirito also starred in the Food Network series Melting Pot, the NBC hit reality series The Restaurant, and the A&E series Rocco Gets Real.