Legend has it that the Cobb salad was the result of a midnight kitchen raid by a hungry restaurant owner, namely Robert H. Cobb, at Hollywood’s Brown Derby restaurant. Brown Derby was a restaurant chain popular in the golden age of Hollywood. The chain lives on in Ohio and Orlando. Although the original Brown Derby in Hollywood, which was shaped like the classic round hat, is long gone, the legendary midnight snack that became the Cobb salad lives on and is going strong on menus all across the country. This Deviled Egg Cobb Salad with Smoked Salmon Matzah Tartines makes the perfect all-in-one Passover meal.

The salty crunch that usually comes from bacon is replaced with roasted, salted sunflowers. For more smokiness, the optional addition of smoked Gouda is delectable.

Deviled Egg Cobb Salad
(serves 4 as a main course or 6 as a side dish)

Ingredients:

Brown Derby Dressing

• 3/4 cup of canola or grapeseed oil
• 1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup of red wine vinegar
• 1/2 a lemon for 1 Tbsp. of fresh lemon juice and zest
• 3/4 tsp. dry mustard
• 1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 tsp. white granulated sugar
• 1 clove of garlic, minced
• salt and pepper to taste

Deviled Egg Cobb Salad

•  4 eggs, hard boiled
• 1 1/2 Tbsp. mayonnaise
• 1 Tbsp. sour cream
• 1/8 tsp. dry mustard
• lemon zest (from the lemon used in the dressing)
• 1 bunch butter lettuce, washed and dried
• 2 tomatoes
• 1 avocado
• 4 Tbsp. of roasted, salted, sunflower seeds
• smoked Gouda or a nice blue cheese like Roquefort or Bleu D’Auvergne, optional
• 1 beet, optional, to serve with matzah tartines (optional)
•  4 pieces of matzah
• chive and herb soft cheese like Boursin
• smoked salmon
• 1/2 avocado (left over from the salad)
• deviled egg filling (left over from the salad)
• salt, pepper and lemon zest (left over from the dressing)

Directions:

1.  Hard boil four eggs. I like to use J. Kenji Alt’s method. While the eggs are cooking, you can prepare the salad dressing.

2.  In a jar with a lid mix all the dressing ingredients together: canola or grapeseed oil, extra virgin olive oil, red wine vinegar, fresh lemon juice, dry mustard, Worcestershire sauce, white granulated sugar and minced garlic. Add a 1/4 tsp. of salt and pepper. Taste by dipping a leaf of lettuce into the dressing. Adjust salt and pepper to taste.

3. You can toss the salad together in a bowl or set it out on a platter in horizontal layers. Chop the washed and dried lettuce into bite-size pieces. Chop the tomatoes into small cubes and sprinkle with a pinch of kosher salt. Cut the avocado in half and save half for the matzah tartines. Cube the avocado in the peel with a butter knife and then scoop it out with a soup spoon. Lay out each ingredient along the platter. Sprinkle four tablespoons of sunflowers over the avocado. If you are using cheese, grate or make small cubes of cheese to add to the salad either on the platter or separately in a dish to be added at the table. I like to serve the dressing on the side so everyone can put on as little or as much as they like.

4. Now prepare your deviled eggs. Peel the eggs and cut them in half from top to bottom. Put the yolks into a bowl and add the mayonnaise, sour cream, dry mustard and a pinch of salt. Mash it all together until smooth.

With a spoon, add a dollop of filling to each egg. You can also pipe the filling if you want to get fancy, but I like to just use a butter knife to cleanly even off the filling in each egg so it looks like a regular egg. I save the extra filling for my tartines.

5.  Spiralizers have become very popular, so if you have one this is a great time to use it. Peel your raw beet and run it through the spiralizer.  Add the spirals of beet to the platter and place your deviled eggs on top of the beets.

6.  In a few small bowls set out your tartine spreads: the soft herb cheese, the extra deviled egg filling (topped with the lemon zest) and mashed avocado topped with a little finishing salt. (Kosher salt is good, or some Maldon sea salt or smoked salt.) Put the smoked salmon on a plate.

The matzah tartines can be assembled at the table to keep the matzah crisp.

Read more delicious Passover recipes here!