Chicken Marsala

Chicken Marsala is one of my favorite chicken dishes. I remember having it at TASIS and falling in love with the creamy richness of this dish. I've made it a number of times and it almost always turns out great.

Last nights dish was a disaster. I had college friends over for dinner, people I hadn't seen in a very long time and didn't know their food preferences. Chicken Marsala seemed like a safe bet. All was fine in the prep and the cooking of the chicken. Then the sauce happened.

I put the marsala and chicken sauce in the pan to reduce and let it go for a good 10 minutes. Then came the cream...and it curdled. Ugh. So I figured I'd strain the sauce and start fresh. I figured the sauce was too hot and/or too much acid in the dish. At any rate, it was a disaster.

When I strained the sauce I neglected to put something to strain it in, so down the drain it went. F*ck! So then I had to think fast. I put the mushrooms back in the pan...and then just made a Parmesan cream sauce. Added the rest of the half and half and some whole milk with Parmesan. Put the chicken in and walked away...then I burnt the damn sauce. It was not turning out to be my night.

Took the chicken out, used another pan and remade the Parmesan cream sauce. It turned out fine and we joked about it a bit, but good heavens what a mess.

Now, this recipe, however, is easy. It's quick and simple. Just know when you add the cream, do it at a much lower temp and be sure your wine has reduced plenty. Once something curdles it's hard to come back from that.

Chicken Marsala
Recipe from Cafedelites
Serves 4

Chicken:
1/2 c all-purpose flour (plain flour)
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp black cracked pepper
2 large boneless skinless chicken breasts, halved horizontally to make 4 fillets*
2 T olive oil, divided
4 T unsalted butter, divided

Marsala Sauce:
1 T unsalted butter as needed
8 ounces (250g) brown or Cremini mushrooms, sliced
4-5 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 c dry Marsala wine
1 1/4 c low-sodium chicken broth (or stock)
3/4 c heavy cream (thickened cream, evaporated milk or half and half may also be used)**
2 T fresh chopped parsley

Mix the flour, salt, garlic powder and pepper in a shallow bowl. Dredge the chicken in the flour mixture and shake off excess.

Heat 1 tablespoon oil and 2 tablespoons butter in a 12-inch pan or skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Fry 2 of the chicken breasts until golden-brown on both sides (about 3 to 4 minutes per side). Transfer to warm plate, tent with foil and keep warm.

Repeat the same with the remaining 2 chicken breasts.

In the same pan with remaining pan grease leftover from the chicken, melt 1 tablespoon of butter. Add the mushrooms and for 2-3 minutes until browned, scraping away at any of the leftover chicken bits off the bottom of the pan.

Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.

Pour in the Marsala and the broth and simmer until reduced by half and starting to thicken, (about 10-15 minutes).

Pour in the cream and return the chicken back into the sauce. Cook until the sauce thickens (about 3 minutes). Garnish with chopped parsley and serve immediately. (The sauce will continue to thicken off the heat.)

Serve over cooked angel hair pasta (or pasta of choice), rice, potatoes, cauliflower rice or zucchini noodles, if desired.


Calories: 503kcal | Carbohydrates: 21g | Protein: 27g | Fat: 29g | Fiber: 1g