Italian Chicken Marsala

When I want to serve a special chicken dish that I know everyone will love, I make Chicken Marsala. Richly flavored with a reduction of Marsala wine, mushrooms and pancetta, Chicken Marsala is a classic Italian dish. It offers enough flair for entertaining and is easy enough for cooking during the week.

Start with golden chicken cutlets, then make your sauce in the same pan. Cook baby green beans in five minutes, whip up a salad, and make it a meal.

Slice the chicken breasts in half horizontally, sprinkle with salt, pepper and granulated garlic, and dust with white whole wheat flour. Follow directions for cooking chicken cutlets to a crisp golden brown, then set them side. It takes just a few minutes. To do them all at once use a large 6 quart saute pan or a large skillet. Notes on tools are at then end of the post.

In the same pan, create a sauce with Marsala wine, mushrooms, pancetta, garlic, tomato paste and fresh oregano. The flavors are irresistible.

A note on ingredients – Marsala was originally named for where it was (and still is) produced – the port city of Marsala on the Italian island of Sicily. Marsala is a fortified wine, which means spirits (like brandy or alcohol) have been added. It was originally produced this way to preserve it for long ocean voyages, hard to comprehend in the modern world of aviation and overnight shipping. It’s still produced the same way because of popularity.

My recipe was adapted from Cooks Illustrated. I’ve tried making it with both sweet and dry Marsala separately but find I prefer the flavor when I blend the sweet and dry together. The Marsala I use is inexpensive and fortified wines last almost forever in a cool pantry.

If you are not familiar with pancetta, it’s Italian unsmoked bacon. Find it in the deli section or at a deli counter. The butcher can cut you a small chunk to dice up. When I buy it this way, I’ll often eliminate some of the fat and use more of the meaty portion. It’s also available pre-diced for quick use in many stores. It regards to the fat content, much of the fat is rendered out during cooking, then drained off before being added back into the sauce.

Make it a Meal: Add a green vegetable like baby green beans or tossed green salad for a side dish and maybe some whole wheat pasta tossed with olive oil and good Parmesan and you have a terrific dinner.

Italian Chicken Marsala

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Crisp chicken breast cutlets topped with an Italian Marsala-mushroom sauce. Easy and elegant. Serve with green beans or broccolini and whole wheat pasta tossed with olive oil and finely grated Parmesan cheese. See this post for golden chicken cutlets for directions on how to cook the chicken. It’s easy and fast.

Adapted from Cooks Illustrated  

Serves 4 (halves easily for 2)

Ingredients

For the Cutlets:

• 1½ pounds (700 grams) organic boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• Salt, pepper and granulated garlic, as needed
• ½ cup (75 grams) white whole wheat or regular whole wheat flour
• 2 tablespoons (28 grams) extra virgin olive oil

For the Sauce:

• 3 ounces (90 grams) pancetta, diced small
• 12 ounces (340 grams) white or brown mushrooms, sliced thin
• 2 large garlic cloves, minced fine or pushed through a garlic press
• 1 tablespoon (15 grams) tomato paste (freeze extra for future use)
• 8 ounces (237 ml) dry Marsala wine
• 8 ounces (237 ml) sweet Marsala wine
• 1 tablespoons fresh chopped oregano
• 1 tablespoon fresh chopped parsley, optional for garnish
• 2 tablespoons (28 grams) unsalted butter, optional
• Fresh ground black pepper, to taste

Directions

1. Slice the chicken breasts in half  and cook as described in the Golden Chicken Cutlets post. It’s easy and fast. Set cutlets aside and keep them warm while you make the sauce.
2. On a small plate, fold up several layers of paper towels to drain the fat. Over medium heat in the same pan, cook the pancetta until crisp and golden. Pour the pancetta onto the paper towels and drain off fat.
3. In the same pan over medium heat, add the sliced mushrooms. It may seem dry at first, but as the mushrooms cook (and squeak) they will give off their moisture. You can add  just a little olive oil if you want to, maybe a teaspoon or two. Cook the mushrooms until they give off their moisture and start to brown. Add the pancetta back in along with the garlic and tomato paste. Cook 1 minute, stirring. Add both sweet and dry Marsala to the pan. Cook until the wine is reduced and starting to get thick and syrupy. Stir in the fresh oregano and you are ready to serve.
4. To serve, place chicken cutlets on warm plates and top with the sauce.

Helpful links, side dishes, information and tools:

More about Marsala wine, from Wikipedia

Here’s the recipe link for golden chicken cutlets

Recipe for baby green beans. You can serve them  simply drizzled with a little olive oil, salt and pepper. Just cook according to the recipe, 5 minutes, and they are ready.

If you like Marsala, you can make a classic Italian dessert called Zabaglione with it. Recipe here rom Simply Recipes. 

For pasta, my favorite brand is Delallo. Their whole wheat linguine (and other cuts) is terrific. It’s widely available in stores.

If you cook for a family, All-Clad makes a great big 14″ skillet that holds a lot. Here’s the link at Sur La Table. You can get all of your chicken done at once time. It comes in a non-stick version too. 

Another “big” pan I could not live without is All-Clad’s 6 quart stainless steel saute. The straight sides help prevent splattering and it comes with a lid. The 3 quart saute is also  pan I use constantly. Better for smaller quantities and easier to store. I buy the plain stainless steel. Works great and is less expensive.

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