Chicken Marsala

Chicken Marsala is one of those underrated dishes that people usually only eat at restaurants. This simple dish can be made at home and should become a part of your menu rotation. Make sure to use a good Marsala wine imported from Italy - California Marsala doesn't even come close. Yes, good Marsala will cost a bit more, but it will make many iterations of this dish; splurge on the good stuff. Pounding out the chicken breasts serves several purposes - the chicken cooks faster and goes farther, and you can work out the stresses of your day on the meat. Regular white flour is fine for dredging the chicken, but I've found that Wondra works very well for frying. Give it a try in this recipe, and keep it around for making exceptionally smooth sauces and gravies.

2 chicken breasts, pounded to 1/4 inch thick*
3 tablespoons Wondra flour*
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
1 tbsp dried Oregano
3 tbsp butter at room temperature*
3 tbsp olive oil
1/2 lb mushrooms, sliced (cremini or white button)
1 cup Marsala wine
1/2 cup chicken stock
4 tbsp Italian parsley, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 shallot, minced

Mix the Wondra flour and a pinch of salt and pepper together on a plate. Dredge the chicken breasts in the Wondra mix, set aside. In a large, heavy bottomed skillet* heat the olive oil over medium high flame. Fry the chicken breasts for about 4 minutes a side or until golden brown and remove to a plate. Don't worry about cooking all the way through, the chicken will finish in the sauce. Keep the chicken warm in a 250 degree oven.

Add the garlic and shallots to the skillet used for the chicken (add another tablespoon of olive oil if there is not enough left in the pan). Saute over medium high flame until soft, about 2 minutes. Add the sliced mushrooms and cook until they release their moisture, about 5 minutes.

Add the Marsala to the pan. Scrape the brown bits off the bottom of the skillet - the Marsala will deglaze* the pan and the bottom should become clean. Continue cooking the mushrooms and Marsala for 5 minutes. Add the chicken stock, oregano, and parsley. Taste the sauce, correct the seasonings with sea salt and pepper. Cook the sauce for another 5 minutes, return the chicken to the pan. Reduce the flame to medium low and finish cooking the chicken in the sauce (about 5 minutes). You may cover the pan, reduce to very low, and hold for 15 minutes if needed.

When ready to serve, remove the chicken to a warm serving platter. Increase the flame to medium high and add the butter to the sauce. Stir in the butter until melted and fully incorporated. Check the seasonings again, and correct if necesary with salt, pepper, and Marsala.

Pour the finished sauce over the chicken, and serve with peas and capellini*.

*To pound the chicken breasts, put one in a gallon size zip-top plastic bag with a few drops of water. Seal the bag and pound with a french rolling pin or empty bottle of wine. You can also put the chicken between two pieces of plastic wrap, but I find that the chicken always slips out. The bag method is much cleaner. Flattening the chicken breasts is a great way to feed four people on two breasts - the chicken goes much farther when pounded and then breaded and fried. Wondra flour is an incredible invention. I won't go into detail here (check the website for the full story), but the process basically involves pre-cooking the flour with steam and adding some barley flour as a dough conditioner. This flour is perfect for use in sauce and gravy as it does not lump. I love using it for coating things that are to be fried; Wondra coated chicken fries up with a beautiful golden brown patina. Adding room temperature butter to a sauce is called "mounting" and it is essential. Yes, butter isn't the best for you, but go ahead, it tastes so good! The sauce will thicken and take on a gossamer sheen. As you know by now, Cucina di Campo highly recommends All-Clad stainless steel skillets for their superior cooking performance. Deglazing a pan is a process of adding liquid to a skillet that has become coated with the residue of frying. Adding liquid to the hot pan will remove the stuck-on brown bits (called fond) from the bottom of the pan, adding depth of flavor to a sauce. I love to serve Chicken Marsala with whole wheat capellini (angel hair), but you can serve it with any other pasta on hand or even rice.