Chicken Marsala



Chicken Marsala with prosciutto and mushrooms


Years and years ago, Eddy and I had a delicious dinner at an Italian restaurant in town and I ordered turkey Marsala.  It was the first time I'd tasted this dish and it was delicious!  I was so smitten with it, I went to the library and searched for a recipe (this was pre-internet!)  I have been making it ever since, but usually with chicken, since turkey cutlets are not always available.

Chicken Marsala is one of the easiest dishes to make and it always turns out "company worthy."  If you are a novice in the kitchen and want to make something to really impress your guests, try this recipe.  Recipes for Chicken Marsala are pretty standard.  If you google it, you'll get a slew of hits with very subtle variations.  Here is the way I make it:  (recipe after photos)

chicken breasts, cut in half and pounded

 

browning chicken breasts in olive oil



saute prosciutto until brown and crispy

saute mushrooms until most liquid has been released and evaporated

 
Ingredients:

2 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts (or turkey cutlets)
flour (about 1/2 cup)
4 T olive oil or butter or a combination of both
4 oz. paper-thin slices prosciutto cut into strips
1 t fresh thyme leaves
8 oz mushrooms, sliced
3/4 c Marsala
1 c chicken broth
4 T unsalted butter
3 T Italian parsley chopped

(Note: Marsala is a sweet Italian wine.  You can usually find a smallish bottle of it in most grocery stores down the aisle that has vinegar.  It should be right next to the cooking Sherry.)

Method:
1.  Lay the chicken breast on a cutting board and place your hand, palm flat, on top of it.  Use a very sharp knife (a fillet knife if you have one) to cut the breast in half, making each cutlet about 1/4 inch thick.  Do this with all the chicken breasts (turkey cutlets are good to go just the way they are.)  Next, place the cutlet between two pieces of wax paper or in a freezer bag and pound to thin a bit more.

2.  sprinkle the cutlets with salt and pepper.  Heat the oil or butter in a large, flat pan over medium-high heat.  Dredge each cutlet in flour and brown in pan on both sides.  You will probably have to do this in batches.  Set chicken aside.

3.  Dump prosciutto into the pan a stir and cook until beginning to brown and crisp.  Add thyme and mushrooms.  Cook until mushrooms have released their juice and liquid is almost gone. 

4.  Reduce heat to medium.  Pour in the Marsala and continue cooking at a simmer allowing alcohol to burn off, about two minutes or so.  Add in the chicken broth and let simmer another minute or so to reduce the sauce.  Swirl in the butter, stirring to incorporate.

5.  At this point, you can either return the chicken to the pan to rewarm, or place chicken in a serving dish, pour sauce over and rewarm in a low oven.  Just before serving, sprinkle parsley over top.

Chicken Marsala with spaghetti and green beans

Introducing the Emmi

Asian beef and noodles


My daughter has a couple of friends who I recently invited over for an international potluck.  They confessed to me that they had gone to my web site to find a recipe to cook and bring to the gathering, but that all my recipes looked too complicated.  I was stunned!!  I will admit that there are several rather involved recipes on my site, but I also have many, many simple and easy to prepare recipes.  Don't I??

I guess it's possible that because I so love to cook and have been doing it for years, what seems simple to me might be a bit involved for the occasional cook.  So, I am going to make an effort to regularly post recipes that any inexperienced cook can make (as long as they have a taste for adventure) with just a smidgen of effort.  I'm going to call these recipes Emmi Recipes (and they will be tagged as such) in honor of Emily and Michelle, my daughter's culinarily-challenged friends.

The first recipe in this collection is Asian beef and noodles.  You have to be willing to purchase a few ingredients that you probably don't normally keep in your kitchen.  If you are willing to do this one small thing, then this recipe will go together quickly and easily and the pay-off is delicious!

One of the unusual ingredients is Udon noodles.  Many grocery stores carry these now in their Asian section.  These small, individual serving packets of fresh noodles come with a seasoning packet for making soup.  They look like this:

Another unusual ingredient is Asian chili paste.  This stuff is really good and lasts forever in the refrigerator so you should keep some around anyway.  This can also be purchased in the Asian aisle of most supermarkets.  It looks like this:

The last unusual ingredient is bok choy.  Buy baby bok choy, if you can find it.  Many supermarkets, such as Meijer's, carry this.  But if you live in a city that has an Asian grocery store (and Emily and Michelle do!) you should go there.  It's going to be fresher since they have a much quicker rate of turn-over and the price is considerably cheaper! 

bag of baby bok choy from Saigon

With one quick trip to the Asian market, you can buy all the things you need for this recipe except the meat.

So then.... here is the recipe.

Ingredients:
2 T oil (such as canola or peanut)
2 lb chuck or English roast, cut into small chunks (1 1/2 inch pieces)
4 green onions, sliced
8 cloves garlic, mashed
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup water
1/4 c plus 2 T soy sauce
2 t ginger powder
1 T Asian chili paste
2 packages Udon noodles
4 cups bok choy, sliced (if using large bok choy, cut into 1 inch pieces)
1/2 cup minced cilantro (or more, to taste)

Method:
1.  Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Sear the meat with the onions and garlic. You may need to do this in batches if your pan isn't large enough.  In this case, add the onions and garlic with the final batch.  To sear properly, the meat should not be crowded in the pan.

2.  Transfer the meat, onions, and garlic to a crockpot and add the broth, water, soy sauce, ginger, and chili paste.  Stir well to combine.  Cover and cook on LOW for 7 hours or on HIGH for 3 hours.  (you can also do this on the stove top by combining everything in a soup pot, bring to a boil, then reduce to simmer.  Let simmer, covered, until the meat is tender.  Maybe about 1 1/2 hours)

3.  Add the noodles (noodles only, throw the flavoring packets away) and stir to combine.  Then add the bok choy, stir, and continue cooking for about 15 minutes or until tender.

4.  Before serving, stir in cilantro.

(Note:  feel free to add a third package of noodles if you like less broth and more noodles!)

If you try this recipe, please leave a comment.  I would like to know if it turns out as easy and delicious for others as it does for me!

Easy and Delicious!!