First, let me start off with an apology for the delay in posting this recipe. Let’s just say we had some unexpected delays in travel/computer efficiency.
Alright, now let’s get started. California has become known for many foods including sourdough bread, avocados, the Irish Coffee, fresh seafood, and some of the most famous chocolate in the nation. Sourdough bread has been a long time staple of California cuisine, namely San Francisco, gaining popularity during the California Gold Rush because of it’s stability and the ease of obtaining yeast. Over the years, it’s a constant accompaniment with dishes such as Cioppino or made into bread bowls for other Chowders. In the past six months, Sourdough has seen an even bigger resurgence with folks baking at home and trying their hand at bread making.
Avocados, one of my favorite produce items before it became popular, have become famous for gorgeous color, smooth texture and creamy taste. Being high in healthy fats, its a wonderful substitute for mayonnaise on sandwiches, additive in salads and easy to add into dressings. They are also infamous for having a very particular time frame in which you can use it. They are quick to soften which is ironic since it takes 14-18 months for a single California Avocado to grow.
These two food items have joined forces to now become one of the biggest food trends in the past 4 years. There’s has been a ton of variations on this ranging from savory breakfast to inventive lunches. Relatively healthier for you then some other options, the possibilities are endless for what you can put on top of your avocado besides traditional sea salt.
When trying to come up with how we wanted to top the sandwich, I remembered the lunch time staple, Cobb Salad. Did you know Cobb Salad originated in California? The infamous Brown Derby Restaurant in Hollywood is actually the birthplace of the famous salad. The then owner of the famous restaurant, Bob Cobb (yes that’s his real name) was hungry late one night and plucked different leftover ingredients from the fridge. Cold chicken breast, avocados, watercress, chives, blue cheese, hard boiled egg, romaine and some crispy bacon stolen from a near by line cook not only cured Bob’s hunger, but also ended up becoming one of the most legendary salads in the world.
It seemed to make perfect sense to combine these three infamous California food items into one dish! Best part of this recipe is that your avocados don’t have to be picture perfect, just soft enough to mask on to your toast. Now, if you are experience enough to use your own sourdough that you have baked, more power to you. As much as I love baking, I have not entered the sourdough world. I’m more of a cake, desserts and sweets baker myself.
Toast your bread and spray a little oil or smear a little butter on it for ample crispness. Then slice your avocados, place them on the bread slices and mash them down. If it’s still a little firm, that’s ok. From here on, it’s really simple. All that has to be done then is just layering the other ingredients.
Additionally, I have made a simple green goddess dressing to drizzle on top and add more flavor. This is another way to highlight the chives in the traditional cobb salad recipe and also keep the freshness and healthy vibes that come when you think of California cooking.
Because my fellow recipe tester does not do eggs, we omitted that from our recipe but of course feel free to add them in. This is a great brunch option to switch things up or a perfect lunch/dinner pick. Enjoy!
“Cobb Salad” Avocado Toast
Serves 4
- 8 slices of Sourdough bread, toasted
- 2 ripe Avocados, sliced
- 1 cup Baby Spinach leaves, chiffonade
- 2 Chicken Breasts, boneless skinless cooked and either diced or pulled.
- 4 strips of Bacon, cooked and diced
- 1 cup of grape tomatoes, halved
- 3/4 cup Blue Cheese, crumbles
- Salt & Pepper to Taste
Lay toasted bread out on clean surface. Take 3-4 slices of avocado and place on each slice of bread. Using a fork or knife, mash down on toast. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Next, sprinkle some spinach on to each bread slice. Then layer each ingredient: chicken, bacon, tomatoes and blue cheese. Sprinkle with additional salt and pepper to taste and drizzle with Green Goddess dressing.
Green Goddess Dressing
- 1/4c nonfat Greek yogurt
- 1 cup parsley
- 1 cup mixed soft leafy herbs, dill and mint
- 2 tablespoon chopped chives
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice, plus ½ teaspoon zest
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
Place all ingredients in either a food processor or blender. Process all ingredients until well blended and smooth. Serve and refrigerate in an air tight container.