We Finally Learned the Secrets to Make Elaine's "Big Salad" from Seinfeld
If you, too, have watched Seinfeld, you'll never look at nonfat yogurt, muffin tops or Junior Mints the same way again. And we can't forget about the soup—yes, for you!
So many iconic moments of the '90s sitcom revolve around food, and there's one dish in particular emblazoned in our memories from the show: Elaine's "Big Salad." This menu order from Monk's, the New York City diner the characters frequented, was her go-to order. This supersized salad played such a big role in episode two of season six, the title of the episode is "The Big Salad."
Until now, we've only been able to guess what was in that bountiful bowl. But thanks to Julie Tremaine and Brendan Kirby, the co-authors of Seinfeld: The Official Cookbook, which debuted this week, we can now toss together our own Big Salad—no plane ticket to NYC required.
Grab some tongs and a fork, and you're minutes away from feeling like you've been transported back in time and have a chance to slide into that iconic Monk's booth right alongside Jerry, George, Kramer and Elaine.
By the way, this Cobb-style salad is just one of 60 recipes inspired by "the show about nothing," and the authors recently shared a full how-to with Good Morning America.
"'Tomatoes like volleyballs?' They could work. Elaine's favorite is sure to indulge the salad lover in your life," the cookbook authors write. "This is so much better than two small salads offered by Hildy. No comparison."
It takes just 15 minutes to whip up two servings of Elaine's Big Salad. Start by whisking up the dressing. In a small bowl, add the juice from a lemon, 1½ tablespoons Dijon mustard, ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil, a big pinch of sea salt and a small pinch of black pepper. Whisk vigorously until this is emulsified (alternatively, add all of the ingredients to a mason jar, close the lid and shake to combine). Taste the dressing and adjust seasonings or add more acid or oil as desired.
Now it's time to round up the salad ingredients. You'll need iceberg lettuce, 1 avocado, 2 store-bought or homemade hard-boiled eggs, 4 strips cooked and crumbled bacon, 1 cup shredded leftover or rotisserie chicken, ½ cup halved grape tomatoes and ½ cup crumbled blue cheese.
Shred or slice a full head of iceberg lettuce, then divide that between two large salad bowls. Carefully halve the avocado, pull the halves apart and remove the pit. Use a spoon to scoop the avocado flesh out of the skin, then use a sharp knife to cut each half into slices. Peel the 2 hard-boiled eggs and use a knife to slice each egg into quarters.
Top each bowl of greens with stripes of the following ingredients:
- Half of the avocado slices
- 4 egg quarters (1 egg each)
- Half of the crumbled bacon
- ½ cup of the shredded chicken
- ¼ cup of the grape tomatoes
- ¼ cup of the blue cheese
Drizzle on the dressing and dig in! After trying this original version, we're already excited to make the Big Salad our own with other proteins (leftover Thanksgiving turkey or shrimp), extra accessories (everything bagel or halloumi croutons!) and a mix of greens to clean out our crisper drawer. All of the possible combos sound so delicious, we'll be highly likely to bust out in an awkward dance.