chickenmarsala

Chicken Marsala

There are as many ways to make this dish as there are Italian cooks. Some cooks prefer only using olive oil, Marsala wine, mushrooms, salt, pepper, and that’s it. Some temper the wine with a good rich chicken broth or stock. Quite often, some restaurants use short cuts by adding a thickener to the dish. I have also seen cooks add heavy cream at the end to make it thicker. The descendants who came from different regions of the Old Country have their own way for making Chicken Marsala, so you make yours. That is the beauty of cooking Italian food.

Ingredients:

2 boneless & skinless chicken half breasts
4 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
4 Tbsp unsalted butter
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/8 tsp kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/2 tsp dried oregano
3 cups freshly sliced mushrooms
1/2 cup Marsala wine
1/4 cup chicken stock
3 Tbsp freshly chopped Italian parsley

Begin by pounding the chicken breasts between sheets of plastic wrap until they are no more than ½” thick. In a shallow bowl, combine flour, salt, pepper and oregano. Dredge the chicken pieces in the flour and make sure to shake off the excess.

Now heat the olive and half of the butter in a frying pan over medium heat. Cook the chicken breasts until they are golden brown on both sides, which only takes maybe 2 to 3 minutes per side. As soon as both sides are golden brown, remove the chicken and set aside.

Add the rest butter to the pan, the Marsala wine and bring to a soft boil. Stir and scrape off the essence from the bottom of the pan. As soon as the wine is reduced by about half, add in the chicken stock and oregano and cook for few minutes or until it starts to thicken up a little.

Return the chicken breasts to the pan and to cook them for about five minutes. Now add in the mushrooms and continue cooking until they give off their liquid and then turn slightly golden brown. If the liquid is too thin when you add the mushrooms, you may thicken the dish by slightly dusting it with flour. The flour has to be stirred and simmered in the dish for no less then 5 minutes before it can be served. Right before you serve it, stir in the parsley.

Marsala Wine

Marsala is a blended, fortified wine of Sicilian origin and is aged for at least two years or more in casks. It has a dark amber color, a smoky flavor, and varies from sweet to dry. It is used as a dessert wine. Marsala wine was originally fortified by adding brandy, a spirit distilled from wine. This was done to help preserve the wine on long sea voyages to England and to America where fluctuating temperatures would encourage the growth of spoilage organisms. The fortified wines became very popular at their destinations because of the increased alcoholic content.