Chicken Marsala

March 24, 2009.   4 Comments.   Categories Italian, Poultry, Sauces / Gravy.   Tags chicken, chicken marsala, easy chicken recipe, italian, mushrooms, poultry, pounding chicken, tenderizing meat.

This is one of my husband’s favorite dishes. The tenderness of the chicken and sweet Marsala wine flavor is irresistible. This is an easy chicken marsala recipe but takes a little time. It’s worth it!

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 4-5 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 4 tablespoons of good quality extra-virgin olive oil
• 3 ounces pancetta, diced very small
• 8-10 ounces white button mushrooms (you can use crimini but I think the buttons are better for this recipe) – slice them very thin
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 teaspoon minced shallot
• 1 teaspoon of organic tomato paste
• 1 3/4 cup – good sweet Marsala wine (not dry!)
• 2 tablespoons – fresh squeezed lemon juice
• 3 tablespoons butter- cut into three equal pieces and keep chilled
• 3 tablespoons freshly minced Italian parsley

Heat the oven to 200 degrees and place the rack in center position.  Place flour in a square baking dish or pan, shake lightly to spread.

Rinse the chicken breast and pound lightly until the breast is an even thickness to ensure it cooks evenly.  Trim off all excess fat and edges.  Dry with a paper towel and season with sea salt and pepper.  Dredge breasts in flour to coat. Make sure all ridges are well covered.  Shake lightly to remove excess.

Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a 12-14 inch skillet over medium-high heat until the oil is just shimmering and lightly smoking.  Add the chicken and brown lightly.  This should take about 10 minutes.  When chicken is browned place it in a baking dish and place in the pre-heated oven to keep it warm.

Add 2 more tablespoons of oil and return to medium high heat.  Add the pancetta and mushrooms.  Cook until the pancetta is crispy and the mushrooms and lightly cooked and browned (about 10 minutes.)  Stir in the garlic and shallot cook for 1 minute until blended then add  tomato paste and cook for another  minute until paste browns lightly.  Add Marsala.  Scrape up any browned bits in the pan and simmer lightly until the Marsala has reduced and has a slightly sticky consistency like a syrup (about 8-10 minutes.)

Add the fresh lemon juice and any juices from the chicken that have accumulated in the baking pan in the oven.  Turn heat on very low and gently whisk in the 3 chilled tablespoons of butter one piece at a time until melted and well blended.

Turn off the heat… stir in the fresh Italian parsley and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Add chicken breast to sauce pan and dredge in the sauce and each side to cover.  Then place chicken over your pasta of choice (I use Fettuccine) and spoon the sauce including all mushrooms and pancetta.  Sprinkle with freshly micro-grated parmesan cheese.