Cobb-ish Salad with Vegan Thousand Island Dressing

A few weeks ago I popped down to Palm Desert, California, to get a little relief from the Seattle dreariness—sort of a must-do thing in February or March if you live ’round these parts. The PNW is a beautiful area, and has all that rain to thank for its lush, green landscapes, but if you don’t escape for a bit in mid-winter, you start to go a little nuts. Must. Get. Vitamin D. NOW.

Anyway, I had the best cobb salad out for lunch one day, and the not-so-secret ingredient—it was right there on the menu—was horseradish. It was added to the dressing, and gave the salad a fantastic zip. I’ve whipped up a vegan version for this recipe that comes pretty close to what I remember tasting.

Heirloom tomatoes were looking pretty good at the grocery store when I was shopping for ingredients, so I grabbed a couple of those to toss with the romaine, then topped it off with a hard-boiled egg and chopped avocado. Now, I just need a patio and some of that warm sun stuff.

This is another great salad for spring, currently knocking on our doors.

Enjoy!
M

Cobb-ish Salad with Vegan Thousand Island Dressing
Prep time: 1 hour, 10 min | Ready in: 1 hour, 15 min
Yields: 2 main dish salads or 4 sides

Ingredients:
6 to 8 leaves romaine
2 large heirloom tomatoes
1 avocado
2 hard-boiled eggs

Dressing:
1/2 cup raw, unsalted cashews
1-1/2 cup non-dairy milk (almond, hemp, rice, etc.)
1/4 cup sweet pickle relish
2 teaspoons chile sauce
1 garlic clove
2 tablespoons horseradish
1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions:

Soak cashews in water for 1 hour, then drain. (And, remember to hard boil the eggs.)
In a blender, process all dressing ingredients. Refrigerate, covered until needed. (It will be good for a week and a half or so.)
Chop romaine and tomatoes and toss with dressing. Divide between two salad plates or bowls.
Top salad with chopped avocado and halved eggs.
Season with pepper.