The fiancé bought mushrooms the other day and when I asked what I was supposed to do with them, he said “chicken Marsala”. When I looked it up, I was thinking he was crazy to give me such a difficult task, but when I tried to make it, it was actually not too bad and I even flambéed for the first time! He totally approved of my chicken Marsala, even though I used white wine and brandy instead of Marsala wine.

Chicken Marsala over Pasta

Chicken Marsala (adapted from Tyler Florence)

2 chicken breasts (about 1 lb, cut into cubes)

Flour (about ¼ cup)

Salt and Pepper

¼ cup olive oil

10 ounces crimini mushrooms, stemmed and halved

1 cup chopped onions

1 cup Marsala wine (or 1 cup white wine + 1 shot of brandy)

1 cup vegetable (or chicken) stock

2 tablespoon unsalted butter

2 tablespoon cornstarch

½ cup chopped parsley

Put the chicken breasts side by side on a cutting board and lay a piece of plastic wrap over them. Pound with a meat mallet until they are ¼ inch thick. Put some flour on a dish and season with salt and pepper.

Heat oil over medium heat in large skillet. Dredge both sides of chicken in the flour and fry them for 5 minutes on each side. Remove the chicken to another platter.

Lower the heat to medium and sauté the mushroom with the onions for 5 minutes. Pour the Marsala wine and tip the skillet a bit in order to flambé the wine and cook out the alcohol. Add vegetable stock and simmer for a couple of minutes. Stir in the butter and return chicken to the pan to reheat. If needed, add cornstarch or flour to thicken the sauce, but Marsala sauce can be runny. Season with salt and pepper and garnish with parsley. Serve over pasta.

Makes 4 servings of 375 each (without pasta).

Restaurant worthy meal