Chicken Marsala is a frequent find on the menu of Italian restaurants. It is a flavorful dish that can be recreated at home with great success, making it an ideal weeknight meal.

Chicken breasts are pounded thin with a meat mallet to tenderize and speed the cooking process. Sear in a hot pan to brown and let the chicken finish cooking in the sauce. Some recipes call to dredge the meat with flour, but I leave this step out. It tastes better and you don’t have to use as much oil to saute.

Marsala is a fortified wine from Sicily. It is often used in cooking. For chicken marsala be sure to purchase the Dry variety. The bottle will last for some time but if you want other recipe suggestions, try using it in risotto, zabaglione, tiramisu, or anytime you want to deglaze a pan with a touch of wine.

Serve the chicken over mashed potatoes, pasta, or sauteed vegetables. If serving over pasta, I sometimes double the sauce so the noodles have lots of flavor too. Otherwise, toss noodles with olive oil before serving.

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Chicken Marsala

1 Tbs grapeseed oil
2 large chicken breasts, cut in half and pounded to 1/4 inch thickness
4 cups cremini mushrooms, chopped thin
2 garlic cloves
1/3 cup shallot, chopped
3/4 cup marsala
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1/4 cup frozen peas, optional
2 T butter, cut into 4 pieces
parsley

Heat grapeseed oil over medium high heat in large saute pan. Add seasoned chicken breast halves (may need 2 batches) and cook until just beginning to brown, about 1 minute on each side. Remove to a clean plate and set aside.

Once chicken is browned, add mushrooms to pan. Do not shake or move for 1 minute. Let the mushrooms cook. After 1 minute, begin to stir. Cook for a few minutes. Add shallot and garlic and cook until mixture starts to look dry, stirring constantly so garlic does not burn.

Add marsala wine and simmer over high heat until wine reduces to 1-2 tablespoons of liquid. Add salt. Add chicken broth and reduce again until there is about 1/2 - 3/4 of sauce, it should be thickened up but still saucy. Add peas if you’re using them.

Stir in 2 tablespoons butter and melt. Add chicken breasts and stir until breasts are cooked through and coated in sauce. Adjust seasoning. Serve over pasta, mashed potatoes, or vegetables and top with fresh flat leaf parsley.