As my first chicken book is with the editor I decided to start working on recipes for the second book on chicken this time putting my spin on some classic dishes. Michael asked for this dish, which I never made nor ever had. So I looked my the traditional recipe, made it the traditional way then over the next few times I put my spin on it. And here is my Chicken Marsala recipe - I hope you like it.
Ingredients
4 Chicken breast
1 cup homemade chicken stock or at least low sodium store-bought
3/4 cups of Marsala wine
1/2 cup of Vermouth, sweet
1/2 cup of unbleached flour
1 pint of Crimini Mushrooms, sliced
1 pint of Oyster Mushroom, sliced
2 shallots, halved and thinly sliced
1 carrot, minced
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 tablespoon of Olive oil
6 sprigs of thyme
a handful of Italian parsley, chopped and stems removed
Salt and Pepper to taste
Directions
Pound out the chicken breast, one at a time, to about 1/4 inch thick between two sheets of plastic wrap.
Place flour in a shallow bowl and season with salt and pepper, coat the chicken with a light coating of the flour, place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Place a large deep skillet over medium-high heat and melt the butter and then whisk in the olive oil. Next brown, the chicken, one breast at a time in the skillet, about 2 minutes each side, remove and place on the baking sheet and repeat until down. Cover with foil to keep warm.
Now add the shallots and carrots to the skillet and saute until soft, pour in the marsala wine to deglaze the skillet, once reduced by half, add the vermouth and the thyme sprigs. Once the liquids have reduced by half, add the mushrooms and half the chicken stock. Saute the mushrooms until soft, and the liquids have reduced by half. Remove the thyme stems most of the leaves should have fallen off by now. Taste sauce and season accordingly.
Add the balance of the chicken stock and return the chicken to the skillet, nestling it in between the mushrooms, bring to a boil and then reduce heat and simmer until chicken is cooked through and the sauce has reduced by half. Remove chicken to a new parchment-lined baking sheet, cover with foil to keep warm. Increase heat to the skillet and saute until the sauce is nice and thick about 5 minutes.
Transfer the chicken to a serving platter and pour sauce over and garnish with parsley.