Curtis Stone's Grilled Chicken with Arugula and Zucchini Salad with Lemon-Caper Vinaigrette Recipe

A few weeks ago my friend Jen invited me to attend HSN Cooks with her. Before we went to the live taping, HSN served us a lunch from multiple celebrity chef's. There was an arugula salad which caught my eye and made everyone from the table go back for more. We later found it out was by Chef Curtis Stone and I couldn't wait to make this at home and share with my readers. This is a perfect spring salad which I could eat for days!

I adapted his recipe a tad, not including tomatoes while adding artichoke hearts. I also made mine without using zucchini. This was the first time I used my Blendtec to make dressing - I had to try this a few times as my first attempt came out with the consistency of aioli!

Curtis Stone Grilled Chicken and Arugula Salad

Lemon-Caper Vinaigrette: 
2 tablespoons finely chopped shallots
Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon coarsely chopped drained nonpareil capers 1 tablespoon finely chopped pepperoncini
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
2 teaspoons champagne vinegar or white wine vinegar 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Chicken:
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1 tablespoon olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Salad:
5 ounces baby arugula (about 8 cups not packed)
1 cup halved cherry tomatoes
2 small, thin zucchini
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
note: I did not use tomatoes or zucchini in my version

To make the vinaigrette: 

1. In a medium bowl, whisk the shallots, lemon zest, lemon juice, capers, pepperoncini, parsley, and vinegar together. Gradually whisk in the olive oil. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
2. Heat a grill pan over medium-high heat. Coat the chicken with the olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill the chicken for about 4 minutes per side, or until it is seared with grill marks and shows no sign of pink when pierced in the thickest part with the tip of a small sharp knife. Transfer to a cutting board.
3. In a large bowl, combine the arugula and tomatoes. Trim the ends of the zucchini. One at a time, lay the zucchini flat on a work surface and, using a vegetable peeler and working from the stem end to the blossom end, shave off long, thin ribbons until you reach the seedy center. Turn the zucchini around and repeat on the second side, then repeat on the third and fourth sides. Add the ribbons to the bowl and discard the seedy centers of the zucchini. 
4. Using your hands to avoid breaking the ribbons, gently toss the salad with enough vinaigrette to coat. Season with salt and pepper.
5. Cut each chicken breast crosswise into thirds. Transfer a cut chicken breast to each dinner plate and heap some of the salad alongside. Drizzle the chicken and salad with the remaining vinaigrette and serve immediately.