Chicken Marsala

Chicken Marsala in its most basic, traditional form is a simple variation on Italian scaloppina dishes. That being said, my preferred method does not include bacon, or cream, or mascarpone, or breading, or any other vegetables other than shallots and mushrooms…oh, and fresh parsley! I’ve tried to describe a basic, classic version. You can thicken the sauce a little with a cornstarch slurry, or just reduce the sauce to a thicker consistency, leading to a more intense Marsala flavor, making essentially a pan reduction sauce. After all, it is called Chicken MARSALA. I also prefer to season this a bit pepper forward, your choice though.

Ingredients:

• 1 – 12 ounce boneless chicken breast, cut in 4 equal (3 ounce) cutlets

• Kosher salt and black pepper

• About 1/2 cup of flour

• 1 tbsp of olive oil

• 2 tbsp of unsalted butter

• 1 medium shallot, minced

• 1 cup cremini or white mushrooms, 1/4 inch slice

• 1/2 cup Marsala wine

• 1 cup chicken stock, cooled if using cornstarch

• 2 tbsp cornstarch, (optional)

• 2 tbsp fresh chopped parsley

Directions:

• Cover the chicken cutlets with plastic wrap (or put them one at a time in a large freezer bag). Carefully pound them to about 1/4 inch thick. Season both sides with salt and pepper. Dredge in the flour shaking off the excess.

• Heat the olive oil and unsalted butter in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. When the oil and butter is hot, sauté the cutlets until they are golden brown on each side. Do not overcook as they are thin and will become tough. Remove to a plate, cover loosely with foil and keep warm. Lower the heat.

• To the same pan, add the mushrooms and minced shallots and sauté over low heat for about 7 minutes, season lightly with salt and pepper.

• Add the Marsala and turn up the heat, bring the Marsala to a simmer for about 3 minutes to cook off the alcohol and begin to thicken.

• At this point, you can whisk the cornstarch into the cooled stock, add to the pan bring to a simmer and cook until thickened, about 1 minute. If not using the cornstarch slurry, reduce the sauce over medium heat for about 5 minutes until it coats the back of a spoon. Taste the sauce and reseason with salt and pepper if neccessary.

• Return the chicken breasts to the pan, coat both sides of each completely with the sauce, and cook for another 3 minutes.

• Add the chopped parsley and serve 1 or 2 cutlets over buttered egg noodles or steamed white rice, spooning the sauce and mushrooms evenly over the chicken.