I love Chicken Marsala. It’s been one of my “go to” meals for a while and I always have a bottle of marsala wine in the pantry in case the mood hits me. That said, over time, the recipe has changed and evolved to increase the flavor. I typically ramp up the flavor with some dried porcini, and other umami-intense ingredients such as tomato paste and garlic. This feeds a lot (at least 4 people) and freezes well.
Ingredients
4 chicken breasts
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
16 ounces cremini mushrooms, sliced, divided
3/4 cup low-sodium chicken broth
4 ounces dried porcini mushrooms
1 small onion, small dice
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons tomato paste
3/4 cup sweet Marsala wine*
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon fresh parsley or thyme, minced
Directions
To make chicken cutlets, pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts between two pieces of plastic wrap using a meat pounder, an empty wine bottle, or the bottom of a heavy saucepan or skillet. You want them approximately 1/2 inch thick. Cut to equal, manageable sizes (I ended up with 12 3×3-inch pieces)
Put the chicken stock and dried porcini mushrooms in a small sauce pan and put over low heat until it comes to a bare simmer. In a large nonstick skillet over medium heat, melt 1 tablespoon of butter. Once it’s melted and bubbling, add the finely chopped onions and sauté for about 4-5 minutes, until they’re soft and translucent. Add the minced garlic and cook for another 1-2 minutes, just until fragrant. Add tomato paste and sauté for another 2-3 minutes. Add just a small handful of your fresh mushrooms and continue to sauté for another minute. Fond should develop on the bottom of the pot. Turn off the heat and add this “mixture”, getting any solid bits, to the simmering broth.
Pat the cutlets dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Dredge the cutlets in the flour to coat and shake to remove excess. Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large nonstick skillet over high heat until just smoking. Add half of the cutlets and cook until golden brown, 2 to 2 1/2 minutes on each side. Transfer to a large plate and tent with foil. Repeat with the remaining oil and cutlets.
Reduce the heat to medium high and melt 1 tablespoon of the butter in the now-empty skillet. Cook the mushrooms until browned, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Transfer the mushroom mixture to a medium bowl and tent with foil.
Strain the broth mixture through a fine mesh strainer and add it, along with the Marsala to the empty skillet, bringing to a boil over high heat, and cook until reduced to 3/4 cup, about 5 minutes. If the sauce is still too thin, make a corn starch slurry (2 tablespoons corn starch, 2 tablespoons cold water, mixed together) and add to the simmering sauce, stirring constantly to avoid lumps. Reduce the heat to medium-low, return the chicken and their juices to the skillet, and turn the chicken to heat through, about 1 minute. Transfer the chicken to a serving platter. Turn off the heat, whisk in the remaining tablespoon butter, lemon juice, parsley, and mushroom mixture. Pour the sauce over the chicken.
Serve with potatoes, polenta, rice or pasta.
*Go to a wine shop and buy yourself a nice bottle of Marsala; don’t use the stuff you buy in the grocery store often labeled “cooking marsala”. That stuff doesn’t taste very good and because you’re reducing the wine in the pan, the flavors are intensified. A bottle of Marsala (750 ml) in a wine shop usually runs about $12-14, but it will likely last you a while and definitely improves the dish by 1000%.
