Thanksgiving Cobb

I love cooking this time of year! Fall is the perfect time for cozy meals at home, and I cannot even begin to stress how good staying in sounds on these cold + rainy days. I’ve also truly embraced cooking with all of these seasonal veggies currently at my disposal. It’s the season for sneaking in all of the holiday flavors into as many of our regularly schedule meals as possible, which is something I love to do. And one way I love to do it - this Thanksgiving Cobb Salad. It’s a traditional Cobb with a Fall twist. All the key players are still present, like the avocado, blue cheese, hard boiled egg and bacon, but the dressing + other veggie add-ins are full Fall. I essentially make a maple roasted squash dish that could stand on it’s own as a Thanksgiving side, but here it’s the star of my salad. It’s flavorful, loaded, and perfect for the season.

 
 

Love thanksgiving - hate the food

I do like to joke that I love Thanksgiving but hate the food - a statement solely rooted in the fact that I’m not a turkey girl. But what I do love is all the sides. A good homemade cranberry sauce, a caramelized squash side, a toasted nut topping - those are the Thanksgiving things I can get excited about, and this Thanksgiving Cobb has it all. Maple roasted squash, crisp apples + toasted pecans - there all added in to give this classic salad a Fall feast vibes, all while remaining sans turkey.

Let’s quickly chat cranberries. Personally, I love a dried sour cherry + think they’re far superior to craisin, so that’s what I use for my little dried fruit pop of sweetness.

The shining star

The maple roasted squash is the star of the show. At face value, it’s a side dish. Simple as that. You could make just the squash piece and plate it up nicely to be a cute little Thanksgiving side. Here - it’s the shining star of the salad. The squash get tossed with maple, pecans, and simple seasonings, and it’s roasted until it’s tender and caramelized. It’s salty, sweet, a little buttery - everything you’d want in a roasted squash dish + it tastes so good on top of a salad. I’m telling you - a little crispy salad, a little roasted squash, and a little blue cheese on one forkful is the perfect bite.

 
 

The key - load it up

It’s seasonal, it’s fresh, and it’s a fun Fall salad. But like all the best Cobb salads of the world, it is fully loaded. And a loaded salad is what we strive for here! So many yummy toppings + components that when layered on top, you would'n’t even know there’s a full bed of lettuce underneath. That’s just how we like it. Yes - it makes scooping it up maybe a little complicated, but we love it. It’s a canvas to pick out just the right amount of all your favorite components as you scoop a big hunk of greens from underneath.

Yummy, delicious, so good I’d make it for company. It checks all the boxes! A Fall staple for weeknight meals, and I’m glad we dusted off this recipe right before the holiday.

For the maple roasted squash

  • 1 acorn squash, halved, seed, and sliced

  • 2 tbsp maple

  • 2 tbsp EVOO

  • 1/2 c. pecans

  • pinch of cayenne

  • Salt + pepper

For the maple dijon

  • 1/4 c. EVOO

  • 1/4 c. apple cider vinegar

  • 3 tbsp Dijon

  • 2 tbsp maple

  • pinch of salt

For the salad

  • 8 ounces pancetta, cooked + oil drained

  • 4 c. of a crunchy salad mix (I like using a combination kale, cabbage, + brussels)

  • 2 harboiled eggs, sliced

  • 1 apple, thinly sliced

  • 1 avocado thinly sliced

  • 1/2 c. crumbled blue cheese

  • 1/4 c. dried cherries

  • optional: crunchy chickpeas (we made these for our salad and then had no room to layer them on top, so we added them to our own individual bowls)

Start by making the dressing. Add of the ingredients for the dressing to a mason jar, and shake until emulsified. Set aside in the fridge.

Move to preparing the squash. Preheat the oven to 425 and line a baking tray with parchment. Add the squash, maple, EVOO, pecans + seasonings to a bowl and toss it all together. Lay the squash in a single layer on the baking sheet and roast for 15 minutes. Flip the squash + continue to roast for 5-7 more minutes. The squash should be caramelized + fork tender. Remove the squash from the oven + let them cool on the pan.

Now time to prep the salad. In a large bowl toss the lettuce mix with 1/4 cup of the dressing. Toss until all of the lettuce is lightly coated, then transfer the dressed greens to your serving platter. Start by placing the blue cheese + avocado on opposite ends of the salad, and laying the apple slices in the center of the salad. From blue cheese to avocado, layer in the dried cherries, roasted squash + pecans, hard boiled egg, and pancetta. Drizzle a bit more dressing over the top + top with some crunch chickpeas (if you’ve got em), and you’re set!

Lesley ZehnerComment