Fried Chicken with Arugula Salad
This Fried Chicken Thigh with Lemony Arugula Salad dish is one of my favorite dinner recipes to impress guests. It’s so simple and easy to pull together but looks and tastes like it took forever to pull together.
Fried chicken thighs can be fried an hour ahead and then put in the oven to keep warm. Leaving you to just top the crisp hot chicken with a simple arugula salad.
The salad is so delicious and combines peppery arugula with olive oil, lemon juice, thinly sliced shallots, tomatoes and capers. It’s briney and salty and pairs perfectly with the hot chicken. You can serve this all on its own or pair with a simple starch like rice, quinoa or potatoes.
Fried Chicken Thighs with Lemony Arugula Salad
Hot and crispy fried chicken gets topped with a salty arugula salad full of bright flavors like lemon and capers. Serve this to impress your family and friends.
Ingredients
For the Chicken:
- 8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 2 cups buttermillk or whole milk
- 1 large egg beaten
- neutral cooking oil such as canola
For the Arugula Salad:
- 5 oz clamshell arugula leaves
- 2 tbsp capers, drained
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes halved
- 1 small shallot or 1/4 red onion thinly sliced
- olive oil
- kosher salt
- black pepper
- 1 lemon
Instructions
For the Chicken
- In a large bowl combine the egg and milk. Add the chicken to evenly coat and allow this to soak 30 minutes to no more than 2 hours. Whatever you have time for.
- Preheat an oven to 200 degrees with a sheet pan inside ready to hold the chicken.
- In a large 12" skillet over medium high heat pour in the cooking oil to about halfway up the sides of the pan. Heat the oil to 350 degrees. Place the flour in a shallow bowl and mix in the paprika, salt and garlic powder.
- Pull the chicken out of the milk and shake off the excess liquid. Dredge the chicken thighs in the flour and place in the hot oil. I could fit about four at a time. Cook on one side for about five minutes. Then flip. The chicken should be golden brown. Continue to cook until an instant read thermometer registers 165 degrees.
- Once your chicken is cooked through transfer to the sheet pan in your oven to keep warm while you work on the next batch of chicken.
For the Arugula Salad:
- In a large bowl combine the arugula, capers, onion, and tomatoes. Drizzle with some olive oil, sprinkle of salt and pepper, and the juice from one lemon. Mix together well with your hands or tongs.
To Assemble:
- Place the chicken on a plate and top with a generous portion of salad. Serve while the chicken is still warm.
