Chicken Marsala

As you might have noticed by now SP loves mushrooms, so it's not surprising that one of his favorite meals is Chicken Marsala. He's been having a tough time lately so I wanted to make a nice meal for him. We had all the ingredients on hand and I was able to pick up some fresh green beans at the farmers market this afternoon.


It isn't often that I'm so enamored by a dish while it's still in the pan that I take a photo of it, but this just looked so gorgeous:


And it looked just as gorgeous on the plate, with that luscious sauce coating the chicken:


I knew this was going to be a tasty meal, but we were both blown away by the wonderful flavors. I always know a meal is a winner when SP keeps talking about it as we're cleaning up. Even now he keeps turning to me and saying how good it was.

Chicken Marsala
America's Test Kitchen

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 cup flour
salt and pepper
2 tablespoon oil
2 ½ oz. (about 3 slices) pancetta, cut into 1 by 1/8 in. pieces (I used bacon)
8 oz. white mushrooms, sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon tomato paste
1 ½ cups Marsala (I used equal parts sherry and madeira)
1 ½ tablespoon lemon juice
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley

Pat the chicken breasts dry. Place flour in a shallow baking dish or pie plate. Season both sides of chicken with salt and pepper. Coat both side of each piece of chicken with flour. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Place the floured chicken in a single layer in the skillet and cook until golden brown, about 5 minutes per side. Transfer chicken to a plate and return the skillet to low heat and add the pancetta. Sauté, stirring occasionally and scraping the pan bottom with a wooden spoon to loosen the browned bits, until the pancetta is browned and crisp, about 4 minutes. With a slotted spoon, transfer the pancetta to paper towels to drain.

Add the mushrooms to the pan and increase the heat to medium-high. Sauté, stirring occasionally and scraping pan bottom, until the mushrooms begin to brown, about 8 minutes. Add the garlic, tomato paste, and cooked pancetta and cook, stirring constantly, until the tomato paste begins to brown. Off the heat, add the Marsala.

Return the pan to high heat and simmer vigorously, scraping browned bits from the pan bottom, until the sauce is slightly syrupy and reduced, about 5 minutes. Off the heat, add the lemon juice. Whisk in the butter, one tablespoon at a time, until incorporated. Stir in the parsley and season with salt and pepper to taste. Add the chicken back to the pan and coat with the sauce.