Main Dishes, Salads

How to pack for a picnic | Easy and delicious Pacific Northwest Cob Salad

Pacific Northwest Cobb Salad is my version of a classic favorite. I substituted fresh wild scallops and shrimp for chicken, added grilled corn, and used local, organic goat cheese in place of blue cheese creating my version of this classic favorite.

pacific northwest cobb salad #cobbsalad #coastalcobb

(Hey Friends! Today I am joining a group of bloggers to share our favorite summer salads. Make sure to scroll down and click on their sites for more delicious recipes!)

What we love about this salad

Here in the Pacific Northwest we have an abundance of fresh, local seafood and it’s easy to find organic, sustainable produce at our local markets. Shopping in the summertime is so much fun because there are loads of beautiful and healthy food options. This recipe started with a picnic we had in the wine country. I wanted to create an extra special picnic to celebrate our anniversary and this is what I came up with.

Being that it’s summertime and we all tend to eat lighter, I decided to replace the traditional chicken with local seafood. Instead of the blue cheese I added a local goat cheese to keep the salad light and fresh.

Items to have on-hand for your picnic

This is an easy salad to take on a picnic because everything can be stored in containers and assembled at your picnic. It’s easy to take plastic and paper utensils but if you’d like to take your picnic experience up a notch packing a few extra items is definitely worth the effort. I brought a straw tote and filled it with a fringy, blue indigo throw, candles, moroccan tea glasses, fresh linen napkins, and a couple ceramic plates. The yellow salad bowl was purchased almost ten years ago at a French home decor store.

How to make Pacific Northwest Cobb Salad

Start with local, organic greens if possible. I used a mix of store bought butter lettuce and romaine from our garden. Choosing the best produce possible will make this salad taste extra yummy. Rinse, dry, and store your lettuce in a crisper until ready to use. I use the oxo greensaver produce keeper and it really helps prolong the life of my greens.
Wash and cut up cherry or mini heirloom tomatoes. I love all the colors of the heirloom variety.
Hard boil your eggs. You can do this stove top the day before of in your Instant Pot. It takes five minutes and the eggs come out perfect every time. Add a cup of water, close the vent, and cook for 5 minutes. Remove and give the eggs an ice bath. That’s it!
Fry your bacon. Gotta have bacon .. it adds the salty crunch taste that will make this salad one that’s on repeat all summer long. I usually fry up 4 to 6 pieces.
Grill your corn with a little butter and salt. You can use canned corn but I highly recommend grilling your corn and seafood for this salad.
Make your dressing using your favorite ingredients. I add goat cheese to mine for a slightly tangy flavor and to add a creamy texture to my dressing. I usually prep for this salad hours or even the day before serving.
Place seafood pieces on skewers, add olive oil, salt, pepper, and grill.
Add your lettuce to a large bowl (or two if you are making for a larger crowd), and toss with the dressing. Add all the other ingredients including the avocado.
When the seafood is cooked, place on assembled salad or cut the seafood up in to small pieces and add with the rest of your items. My husband prefers everything to be cut up into small pieces. If you are serving just a couple people you might consider not cutting the shellfish up and simply adding a few pieces to each salad.

Pacific Northwest Cobb Salad

Substitute chicken with your favorite fresh, wild fish, add corn if you’d like and then top with a creamy goat cheese dressing for a tasty version of the classic cobb salad.

1 head of romaine lettuce
1 ripe avocado
1/2 pound scallops
2/3 pound shrimp
1/2 cup sliced cherry tomatoes
6 ounces goat cheese
2 ears corn
4 ounces cooked bacon
4 ounces olive oil (plus extra for grilling)
1 tsp dijon mustard
1/2 tsp salt (salt to taste)
a few grinds of pepper
1/2 diced shallot (about a teaspoon)
2 tbsp butter (for grilling corn)

Soak 4 wood skewers for an hour or so.
Cook bacon, cool, and cut into small pieces. Set aside (this can be done a day ahead of time)
Wash and dry seafood. Add to medium size bowl and drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper.
Rinse corn and husks. Pull back corn husks and add butter, salt, and pepper. Grill until done.
Wash and dry lettuce. Cut leaves into thin pieces. Add to serving bowl.
Wash and dry cherry tomatoes, slice and set aside.
Slice avocado and drizzle with the juice of lime.
Make salad dressing: Add olive oil, mustard, shallot, salt, pepper, and 2 ounces of goat cheese to your blender. Blend until smooth. Save remaining goat cheese to top salad.
Divide shrimp and scallops into four servings and place fish pieces on skewers. Grill until done.
Toss lettuce with dressing and then top with tomatoes, avocado, corn, and bacon bits.
Remove seafood from skewers and place on salad. Serve immediately.

This salad is best served immediately when the fish is warm off the grill. That said, if there is any left over, the salad makes a yummy lunch the following day. You can also use canned or smoked salmon in this salad. If you don’t care for goat cheese try topping your salad with feta.

Main Course, Salad

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