Chicken Marsala

This is a recipe from 2005 Gourmet magazine. I have left in the original ingredients but have put substitutions and comments in parentheses and italics. I suppose by rights the LDS version shouldn't be called Chicken Marsala because marsala isn't used, but Chicken with White Grape Juice doesn't have the same ring. Marsala is a sweet dessert wine and the substitution of white grape juice with a dash of lemon juice, gives it a somewhat similar flavor. (I’m remembering from my pre-LDS days.) The recipe received good reviews (4 fork) and would be made again by 91% of the reviewers.

Chicken Marsala

Yield: Makes 4 servings

active time: 50 min

total time: 50 min

Ingredients

• 1 3/4 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth (14 fl oz)
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped shallot* (or small onion)
• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter (or eliminate and use extra olive oil)
• 10 oz mushrooms, trimmed and thinly sliced
• 1 1/2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh sage
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 4 skinless boneless chicken breast halves (2 lb total)
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons dry Marsala wine (use white grape juice + 1 teaspoon lemon juice)
• 2/3 cup heavy cream (or half and half)
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

Preparation

Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 200°F.

Bring broth to a boil in a 2-quart saucepan over high heat, then boil, uncovered, until reduced to about 3/4 cup, about 20 minutes. (This would make the broth stronger tasting but you could easily skip this part and just use ¾ cup of broth.)

Cook shallot in 3 tablespoons butter in an 8- to 10-inch heavy skillet over moderate heat, stirring, until shallot begins to turn golden, about 1 minute. Add mushrooms, 1 teaspoon sage, salt, and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until liquid mushrooms give off is evaporated and mushrooms begin to brown, 6 to 8 minutes. Remove from heat.

Put flour in a wide shallow bowl. Gently pound chicken to 1/4 inch thick between 2 sheets of plastic wrap using the flat side of a meat pounder or a rolling pin. Pat chicken dry and season with salt and pepper, then dredge in flour, 1 piece at a time, shaking off excess. Transfer to sheets of wax paper, arranging chicken in 1 layer.

Heat 1 tablespoon each of oil and butter in a 10-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until foam subsides. (Note: adding the butter to the oil olive prevents burning the oil but if you didn’t want any animal fats, eliminate the butter and add an extra tablespoon of oil and cook gently until hot) Sauté half of chicken, turning over once, until golden and just cooked through, about 4 minutes total. Transfer cooked chicken to a large heatproof platter, arranging in 1 layer, then put platter in oven to keep warm. Wipe out skillet with paper towels and cook remaining chicken in same manner, then transfer to oven, arranging in 1 layer.

Add 1/2 cup wine or grape juice + lemon juice to skillet and boil over high heat, stirring and scraping up brown bits, about 30 seconds. Add reduced broth, cream, and mushrooms, then simmer, stirring occasionally, until sauce is slightly thickened, 6 to 8 minutes. Add lemon juice and remaining 2 tablespoons wine/grape juice and 1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh sage. (If you use dry sage, reduce to ¼ teaspoon; dried herbs are stronger than fresh and you don’t want to overpower the dish.)

Serve chicken with sauce. (I actually like to put the chicken back in the pan with the sauce for a few minutes so that the chicken gets more coated with the sauce. One reviewer actually doubled the sauce and used the extra sauce to put over pasta.)

Serve with pasta and a green salad.

Recipe from http://www.epicurious.com (This often has recipes from Gourmet magazine and Bon Appétit. I also like how the recipes are reviewed and also adapted to taste.)

*shallots are related to onions but have a much more delicate flavor