SUNNY'S GRILLED COBB PASTA SALAD

Sunny's Grilled Cobb Pasta Salad image

Provided by Sunny Anderson

Time 40m

Yield 4 to 6 servings

Number Of Ingredients 16

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/2 teaspoon hot Hungarian paprika
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Olive oil, for drizzling
2 ears corn, shucked
Kosher salt
1 pound bowtie pasta
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 avocado, flesh diced
1 scallion, cut into thirds
Zest of 1 lime plus 1 teaspoon lime juice
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 sun-dried tomatoes in oil, chopped
4 hard-boiled eggs, sliced
8 slices crisped bacon, chopped
1/2 cup blue cheese or gorgonzola crumbles

Steps:

For the grill: Prepare a grill for high heat.
Cut each chicken breast open and in half to make 4 thin chicken fillets. With a meat mallet, gently pound each chicken fillet to even thickness. Sprinkle the chicken with the paprika and some salt and pepper. Drizzle with olive oil.
Put both the chicken and corn on the grill above the direct heat. Cook the chicken on one side for about 4 minutes, then flip and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes. For the corn, simply rotate to get charred and blistered kernels on all sides. This takes about the same time as the chicken, so tend to both simultaneously. Remove the chicken from the grill and cover with aluminum foil for 10 minutes. Allow the corn to cool enough to cut the kernels off, then do just that. Put the corn in a bowl. Once rested, finely chop the chicken: not big chunks, nice lil bits the size of peas.
For the pasta: Bring a pot of water to a boil and season with salt. Cook the pasta to al dente according to the package instructions. Drain and transfer to a large bowl.
For the dressing: In a small food processor, add the mayonnaise, avocado, scallion, lime zest and juice, a pinch of salt and a few grinds of black pepper. Blend until smooth; if needed, add a splash of water to thin to desired consistency.
For the salad: To the large bowl of pasta, add the sun-dried tomatoes and dressing and mix to combine. Arrange the chicken, corn, eggs, bacon and cheese on top of the pasta salad.