Vom Marlowe’s chicken marsala
For bewsbud . Hope this gets you at least one step closer! I don't think the amount of wine or the shallots are standard (they're a bit old fashioned, I think).
Note: I don’t use any chicken broth for my chicken marsala. I feel it gives an inferior flavor. If you want more sauce, increase the marsala and the butter accordingly.
Ingredients:
About a pound of skinless, boneless chicken breasts. (If you prefer dark meat, as I often do, you can also use thighs.)
About a cup of flour
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Good olive oil
Salted butter, at least ¼ cup
Marsala (this determines the main flavor of the dish, get something from the liquor store)
A pint of mushrooms, sliced. I do not recommend portobellas, but I do like a mix of white and crimini.
A handful of real shallots, or a good variety of sweet purple onion, finely sliced. Shallots give the best flavor.
Directions:
Cut the chicken into rough pieces, about two inches by four inches. Put one in a large, clean plastic bag and thwack heavily with a brick, an iron skillet, or similar until it’s well-flattened. You want those suckers to be flat.
When all the pieces have been tenderized…
Put the flour, a good amount of salt and freshly ground pepper in another clean bag and add the chicken, toss until well coated and there’s flour in all the nooks and crannies. Place chicken on a plate and prepare your skillet.
Put a large skillet on a medium flame. Add about two tablespoons of butter and about two tablespoons of olive oil. Heat until the butter bubbles and a bit of flour flicked in there hisses happily. Spread the butter evenly on the bottom of the pan and add your chicken pieces.
Cook the chicken until happily browned one side, flip. Sprinke your shallots over the top and around the edges. They will begin to soften a little. Add an extra bit of olive oil or butter at this point.
When the second side of the chicken is browned, remove the chicken to a plate and put in the oven to keep warm (about 200 degrees).
Continue cooking the shallots until they’re nice and mellow, browned a little. Add your sliced mushrooms and sprinkle them with salt. The salt will cause the mushrooms to bloom with moisture. Cook until the mushrooms are nicely done. Remove the shrooms and onions to the chicken plate.
Open your wine and pour in about two cups of wine. Turn the heat way up and bubble the wine like mad. It should be boiling merrily. Add an extra knob of butter (about two tablespoons or so, more is fine). Stir to melt the butter into the wine and scrape the bottom of the pan to get all the sticky bits up. Keep stirring until the wine is a lot thicker, which can take a while. If you get bored, have a dollop of wine from the bottle (hey, this is what La Dame Julia did, OK, that means it’s nearly a law!)
When the wine sauce is nicely thickened, return the mushrooms to the sauce and heat them up a bit, then add the chicken and cook until the chicken is piping hot, cooked through, and well coated with glaze.
Serve with green vegetables, fresh lovely bread (I like it best with something like French of Italian bread to scrape up the last of the sauce), and a dollop of butter on top. Mmmm.
Makes about four servings.
Note: I don’t use any chicken broth for my chicken marsala. I feel it gives an inferior flavor. If you want more sauce, increase the marsala and the butter accordingly.
Ingredients:
About a pound of skinless, boneless chicken breasts. (If you prefer dark meat, as I often do, you can also use thighs.)
About a cup of flour
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Good olive oil
Salted butter, at least ¼ cup
Marsala (this determines the main flavor of the dish, get something from the liquor store)
A pint of mushrooms, sliced. I do not recommend portobellas, but I do like a mix of white and crimini.
A handful of real shallots, or a good variety of sweet purple onion, finely sliced. Shallots give the best flavor.
Directions:
Cut the chicken into rough pieces, about two inches by four inches. Put one in a large, clean plastic bag and thwack heavily with a brick, an iron skillet, or similar until it’s well-flattened. You want those suckers to be flat.
When all the pieces have been tenderized…
Put the flour, a good amount of salt and freshly ground pepper in another clean bag and add the chicken, toss until well coated and there’s flour in all the nooks and crannies. Place chicken on a plate and prepare your skillet.
Put a large skillet on a medium flame. Add about two tablespoons of butter and about two tablespoons of olive oil. Heat until the butter bubbles and a bit of flour flicked in there hisses happily. Spread the butter evenly on the bottom of the pan and add your chicken pieces.
Cook the chicken until happily browned one side, flip. Sprinke your shallots over the top and around the edges. They will begin to soften a little. Add an extra bit of olive oil or butter at this point.
When the second side of the chicken is browned, remove the chicken to a plate and put in the oven to keep warm (about 200 degrees).
Continue cooking the shallots until they’re nice and mellow, browned a little. Add your sliced mushrooms and sprinkle them with salt. The salt will cause the mushrooms to bloom with moisture. Cook until the mushrooms are nicely done. Remove the shrooms and onions to the chicken plate.
Open your wine and pour in about two cups of wine. Turn the heat way up and bubble the wine like mad. It should be boiling merrily. Add an extra knob of butter (about two tablespoons or so, more is fine). Stir to melt the butter into the wine and scrape the bottom of the pan to get all the sticky bits up. Keep stirring until the wine is a lot thicker, which can take a while. If you get bored, have a dollop of wine from the bottle (hey, this is what La Dame Julia did, OK, that means it’s nearly a law!)
When the wine sauce is nicely thickened, return the mushrooms to the sauce and heat them up a bit, then add the chicken and cook until the chicken is piping hot, cooked through, and well coated with glaze.
Serve with green vegetables, fresh lovely bread (I like it best with something like French of Italian bread to scrape up the last of the sauce), and a dollop of butter on top. Mmmm.
Makes about four servings.