There’s no debate over the fact that salads are the healthiest to indulge in. Swearing by the greens on the plate is always a good idea. But did you know that American actress and 'Friends' star Jennifer Aniston apparently ate only Cobb salad for 10 years on the set of the popular sitcom. Even her co-star Courteney Cox she says that Jennifer, who played the role of Rachel Greene in the show, also tucked into the same salad every day for a decade while filming the TV series. How does that make you feel?
For the uninitiated, Cobb salad is backed by an interesting history. Born one morning in 1937, at Hollywood's Brown Derby restaurant, this salad is the brainchild of Bob Cobb, who owned the restaurant. He was supposedly just flipping through, as he kept pulling cheese, tomatoes, lettuce, hard-boiled eggs, avocado and so on. The bacon that was being cooked next to him made him add a few slices of that too into the salad bowl with the rest. And voila! As Bob tossed all the ingredients, he shared the outcome with his friend Sid Grauman. Next day, he happened to order a 'Cobb Salad', and that's how this iconic salad was born. This guilt-free binging bowl of greens, eggs and more is filled with flavours and textures.
It was only recently that home chef Snejana, who goes by the name 'The Modern Nonna', shared a TikTok video of her simple recipe calling it the 'Jennifer Aniston Salad'. She wrote on her Instagram, saying, “Did you know Jennifer Aniston ate the same salad on the set of Friends with Courteney Cox and Lisa Kudrow for 10 years ? I didn’t either until I researched online. I stumbled upon a "People’s" article and one from “Insiders“ which I was recently told may have been adapted from ”Ice Cream and Neon Dreams” blog. This is not the exact same recipe, but my take on it since I wasn’t aware of the original blog and added everything based on consistency. If you know me, you know that “Friends” was one my favourite shows and I know it’s probably yours too. Courtney and Lisa would call the salad she brought “Jennifer’s Salad ” and it was always on the table at lunch. This salad here is what she calls the perfect salad. I made a few tiny adjustments according to taste as Jennifer never put dressing in hers”.
Here’s the perfect recipe of this Jennifer Aniston salad’ from her blog https://www.themodernnonna.com/
‘Jennifer Aniston salad’ ingredients
1 cup bulgur
1/2 red onion, finely diced
1/2 cup parsley, finely chopped
1/3 cup mint, finely chopped
Pistachios
2 mini cucumbers, diced
Chickpeas, optional
Handful of crumbled feta
Olive oil
Salt and Lemon juice to taste
INSTRUCTIONS
• In a pot on the stove add one cup of bulgur and 2 cups water. Cook the bulgur just like you would cook rice or you can follow the package instructions.
• Finely dice all of your herbs and vegetables and take your time because this should be therapeutic and enjoyable. Add everything to a bowl with the cooked and cooled down bulgur and mix.
• Feel free to add some chickpeas as that was in the original recipe but I felt like leaving them out. I added a touch of olive oil, lemon juice, and salt but feel free to adjust. Enjoy.