Well, the recipe I ripped from the Internet was being passed off as, ‘How to Make Jennifer Aniston’s Friends Salad’.
Touted as the famous salad the cast ate every day for 10 years while on the set of Friends, I was intrigued. The ingredients looked good since they qualified as being on the Mediterranean Diet.
Prepping in advance for a recent birthday dinner party for my sweetheart, I easily substituted naturally gluten-free quinoa for the Bulgur wheat that the recipe used.
The full recipe is available at the end of the post for you to download and print. Since one of our guests is vegetarian, I did not use the optional turkey-bacon.
Easy to assemble, light and refreshing to eat, this is now a favorite to serve to appreciative guests.
But really, what was the history of this salad?
With just a little sleuthing, I was able to discover that the 2022 viral Tic Tok recipe was not the actual one she and the other cast members ate.
Here is her description of the modified Cobb salad they ate from the commissary:
* “It was just lettuce, iceberg, I believe, which has zero nutritional benefits, and chopped tomato, garbanzo beans – too many garbanzo beans is a little bad for your tummy – mine, personally – salami, crunchy turkey-bacon, and chicken. Oh, and Pecorino cheese – and it was topped with Italian dressing.”
Jenifer does conclude her comments by saying she would totally eat the recipe I am sharing with you – it’s just not the one they ate.
Good to know.
This is such a versatile recipe – I could see adding halved cherry tomatoes, diced chicken, or olives – and it’s perfect for making ahead and storing overnight to let the flavors meld.
Enjoy this impostor salad anytime, as a main meal or side dish.
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Next week, I’ll reveal the cover to my next book, Toolkit for Caregiver Emotions, which will be available for pre-orders on Amazon very soon.
In health –
Deidre
* Taken from a filmed interview of Jennifer Aniston with Allure