Chicken Marsala
Makes approx. 10 servings
Ingredients
24 oz, Mushrooms, sliced
1 Shallot, finely chopped
3 Tablespoons, All-Purpose Flour, plus extra flour for coating chicken (about 1 cup)
S&P
3 Cups, Chicken Broth
1 Cup, Marsala Wine
1/4 Cup, Fresh Parsley *reserve some for garnish
8, Chicken Breasts
3-4 Tablespoons, Olive Oil
3-4 Tablespoons, Butter
Instructions
Chicken Marsala
Preheat oven to 400 Degrees. Spray baking sheet, set aside.
Browning Chicken-Chicken Marsala
Prep Chicken: cut chicken in 1/2, then butterfly open and cut all the way through. You should end up with 4 pieces of chicken from each chicken breast. Place chicken between plastic wrap, slightly pound out each piece on both sides. Once you have cut and pounded out all the chicken set aside. In a bowl or on a plate add about 1 cup of flour. Season all your chicken with S&P on both sides. Dredge each piece of chicken with the flour. You want a light coating of flour on each chicken.
Marsala Sauce
Brown the Chicken: On the stove, over medium-high heat add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and 1 tablespoon of butter. Once hot, add chicken. Cook for about 1-2 minutes per side. The chicken will start to turn white. Remove and start placing the chicken onto your baking sheet. Repeat until all chicken is done. Set baking sheet aside or in the fridge until you are ready. In-between cooking each batch of chicken I add a little more olive oil and butter to make sure each batch has the proper amount to saute/brown in. I also wipe the pan clean if it gets too much flour building up in it.
Making Marsala Sauce
Making the Sauce: On the stove over medium heat, add 1 tablespoon of Olive Oil and 1 Tablespoon of butter to a large pan. Add all the mushrooms and shallot. Season with pepper. Saute until the mushrooms start to brown. Once they turn a nice golden brown color, season with kosher salt. Add the 4 tablespoons of flour to the mushrooms, coating all of them. Turn the heat to low and gently stir & toss the mushrooms cooking for about 2-3 minutes. Add the chicken broth and Marsala Wine and stir well. Season with S&P and add about 1/2 of your fresh parsley to the sauce. Simmer the sauce, reducing it by about 1/4.
Chicken Marsala-Ready for oven
Baking the Chicken: Spoon some of the Marsala sauce over the tray of chicken (make sure you include some of the mushrooms too). Place tray into the oven and bake for approximately 15-20 minutes or until chicken is done. Cooking time may vary depending on how thick your chicken is and how much chicken you have to bake. Remove from oven, transfer the chicken to a platter and spoon more of the Marsala Sauce over the chicken. You can also place some extra sauce on the table in a separate container with ladle. Garnish your platter with some of your extra parsley.
We like to serve our Chicken Marsala with a side of Rice. I will make Wild Rice or a Brown Basmati Rice. This time, I made both and combined the two. To my Brown Rice I added some fresh ginger and Kosher Salt (1 tablespoon of each). For the Wild Rice, I followed the box instructions. I cooked them separately and when they were just about done I combined them both into 1 of the pots and stirred to mix them well.
Fresh Green Beans w/Shallot & Onion
We also made a side of fresh green beans by sauteing them in 1 tablespoon of olive oil and 1 teaspoon of butter. I also saute them with 1/2 White Onion (thinly sliced) and 1 Shallot (thinly sliced), seasoned with S&P. After they saute for about 5-8 minutes I add about 1/3 cup of Chicken Broth and cook until beans are tender.
Serve with a nice slice of fresh bread or some garlic bread.
Mangia! Enjoy!
Tips
Sauteing Mushrooms: When browning the mushrooms, make sure the mushrooms turn a nice golden color before adding any salt. Otherwise, the salt will draw out the water in the mushrooms. You end up with too much liquid in the pan and the mushrooms will not get browned. So wait to add that salt until after the mushrooms turn a nice golden brown.
Making the Sauce: You can make as thick a sauce as you like with this recipe. I like my sauce to have about a medium thickness. A good rule of thumb when making a sauce with flour or a roux: For every 1 cup of liquid that you add to your sauce, add:
- 1 tablespoon of flour, for a thinner sauce
- 1½ tablespoons of flour, for medium thickness/sauce
- 2 tablespoons of flour, for a nice thick sauce
We love this sauce so much, I like to put it on top of the chicken when baking in the oven (to keep it moist) and pouring some over the top of my platter before serving. I also like to fill a gravy boat or small container with a ladle to place on the table so that guests can add more sauce if they like. Serve with your favorite side dishes like rice and a veggie.
If you decide to prep the chicken ahead, remove the chicken from fridge about 15-20 minutes before placing into the oven so it isn’t too cold. Since you cut and pounded the chicken out it should be OK if it is still cold. But, typically when you let the meat come to room temperature, it helps it to cook more evenly.