Chicken Marsala
This dish is easy, quick to prepare, tender, and delicious. I highly recommend adopting this into your weeknight repertoire. It can be a lovely dinner party dish (not too expensive for a crowd) and can be prepared in advance. You can plate it or serve it as a buffet item. There are endless accompaniments, such as rice pilaf or buttered egg noodles, or green vegetables, such as string beans, snap peas, or artichoke hearts (frozen). I love this with mushrooms, but that is a matter of personal preference. Chicken Marsala is a versatile and easy dish, and I hope you try it!
Ingredients
- 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 1 cup flour
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
- ¾ cup marsala wine
- ½ quart chicken stock
- 1 lb mushrooms optional
- 3 tbs chopped parsley
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
Prepare the chicken cutlets
- Each 1/2 chicken breast is typically thick enough to be butterflied, then pounded to an equal thickness, and then sliced in half to yield two even cutlets. I lay the butterflied breast between two pieces of plastic wrap (keeps everything neat and even) and then use a wooden mallet to even out the thickness.
- Place the flour into a medium-sized mixing bowl and season with salt and pepper. Toss to mix the seasoning and flour.
- Place a large skillet on the stovetop, turn the heat on medium, and melt the butter.
- Take one cutlet and dredge it in the seasoned flour until evenly coated on both sides.
- Place it into the heated pan where the butter is bubbling but not browning.
- Repeat with the remaining cutlets.
- Cook the cutlets in the sizzling butter, just until starting to lightly brown. Flip each cutlet and lightly brown the remaining side. The chicken will not be cooked through at this stage.
- Remove the browned chicken cutlets from the skillet and place them on a flat pan large enough, so they are a single layer. (If you are preparing ahead, cool the cutlets, cover, and store in the refrigerator until ready to do the final preparation.)
Make the sauce
- Deglaze the hot pan with the marsala wine. There should be a lot of bubbling and drama at this point. Stir to loosen all the brown bits (fond), add the chicken stock, and bring to a light boil. The flour in the pan will thicken the sauce slightly. If you are preparing in advance, you can cool the sauce, decant into a storage container, cover, and refrigerate it.
Final preparation
- If you are serving with mushrooms, clean and sauté the mushrooms in a separate skillet, in 1 additional tablespoon of butter and some more salt and pepper. They should release their liquid and start to brown lightly. Remove from the heat.
- Bring your marsala sauce to a simmer. Then add the browned chicken cutlets and cover to heat through. Be careful to manage they are not boiling – just a simmer will do. You can lift the lid and base the sauce over the top of each cutlet.
- Add the mushrooms, stir to coat with the sauce, and simmer one more minute.
- Serve this with a green vegetable – snap peas can be added raw into the mixture and will cook perfectly as the cutlets are heating through. They should be crisp and vibrant.