Chicken Marsala is something I just love to make and it's a big hit in our home!
When I was growing up in our family restaurant, it was one of my favorite dishes and one I would always recommend to customers! I used to ask the kitchen to make it for me without the mushrooms when I was younger...but sometimes they would forget! This is how I learned to love mushrooms!...and don't tell me you hate mushrooms-this dish will change your mind! You see, the sauce was SO good you didn't want to leave even one drop on the dish... the mushrooms became a vehicle for the sauce! And I suddenly realized that mushrooms weren't that bad after all!!! Of course, a good piece of Italian bread soaks up extra sauce also!
This is a "restaurant" quality dish... it's just that it's not a hard dish to make if you know how! The splash of cream at the end is what puts it over the top! Just that little drop of decadence .... wow...
OK...
Ingredients
Boneless Chicken Breasts
Mushrooms
All-purpose flour
Olive oil(NOT extra virgin) or Sunflower oil
Marsala wine
Broth- chicken or vegetable is fine
Butter
Heavy cream
Salt and Pepper to taste
So start off with as much chicken breasts as you need! I usually count one breast per person if only 2 people but 2 breasts is usually plenty for 3 people... so judge accordingly!
Thinly filet the breasts. You can usually get 3-4 filets out of one chicken breast. Take your time. Practice makes perfect!
Flour the chicken breasts
Place chicken in a heated fry pan with a light coating of oil.
(chicken should lightly sizzle when put in the pan)
Cook on one side until sides begin to turn white... then turn over. Chicken should be just barely golden.
Once you've turned your chicken add a pat or two of butter. (1-2 tbsp)
**if you have more chicken than will fit in one fry pan cook first batch on both sides(don't worry if not 100% cooked thru it will finish when you make the sauce) and put on a plate. Cook second batch. Then once you turn that batch over add the rest of the chicken back on top of that and then continue making the sauce!
Start with about a half cup of Marsala... but keep the bottle handy! Depending how much chicken you are cooking you may use up to 1-1 1/4 cups. (always add the Marsala at the beginning so that the alcohol taste cooks off. If you end up adding more later make sure you cook the sauce a little longer!)
Add the mushrooms -sliced
Depending how much chicken you are making and how much sauce you want you can add a little more marsala (but don't over do it!) and you can also add some broth.
Add salt and pepper to taste and turn chicken over...
This all takes just a few minutes... and mushrooms will be visibly cooked and soaked with sauce.
At the last minute add a splash of heavy cream, panna or even whole milk as a last resort!
Stir it all up... let bubble for a minute or two.
AND you're done!
You will get lots of love from the family and lots of compliments from guests! It's also a great dish to make for a party in quantity. Cut the breast slices in half and make a little extra sauce so that as you keep it warm during the party it doesn't dry up! If it thickens at this point... just add some milk and stir it in! (hey -you gotta know all the tricks!)
This is one of the first dishes all my 5 sons learned from me to make to impress the girlfriends! It's definitely one worth saving!
Buon Appetito!
Baci,
Dorina
