chicken marsala

I mentioned this dish in one of my earlier posts and someone requested the recipe. There are several ways to approach this dish; here is the version I learned. We served it with mashed potatoes, though many recipes serve it over pasta. The recipe has several steps, but is fairly easy to make.

4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/2 lbs boneless chicken breast tenders, or thin sliced breast cutlets
corn starch

Put about 1/2 cup of corn starch in a half gallon Ziploc bag, add chicken, and seal without squeezing the air out. Shake the bag to coat the chicken. Heat a large skillet until it is quite hot. Add oil and let it heat until it begins to ripple, but not smoke. Add chicken to the pan and let cook about two minutes a side. The chicken should be browned nicely. Lower heat to medium and remove chicken to a plate to rest.

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons finely chopped shallot
1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic
10 oz mushrooms, trimmed and thinly sliced
2 oz prosciutto, cut in thin strips
salt
pepper

Add the additional oil and let it get hot. Using a spatula or spoon, scrape the bottom of the pan to loosen up any little crunchy bits. Add garlic and shallots and cook until they soften. Add mushrooms and cook until moisture is cooked out (three or four minutes). Add prociutto and cook for an additional minute or two.

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons dry Marsala wine
1 cup chicken broth
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

Add wine first to deglaze the pan; let it cook for about a minute and then add chicken broth and lemon juice. Let the whole mixture reduce by half and then return the chicken to the pan and cook the whole dish until the sauce is the thickness you desire. (I don’t like mine to be very brothy.)

10 oz baby spinach leaves

The final step is to add the spinach and turn off the heat. Stir the dish until the spinach is wilted, divide into four portions and serve. Serves 4.

Peace,
Milton