Chicken Marsala is a super easy dish you can whip up in less than than 30 minutes and get “restaurant” flavor. If you pick up pre-sliced mushrooms and “paillards”* from the grocery store, you can make it even faster.
Traditional Marsala uses veal, but I haven’t eaten veal for a couple of dozen years. Another change I’ve made to the traditional version is to add chopped shallots and a clove of garlic, because doesn’t everything taste better with shallots and garlic? Here’s a step-by-step tutorial on how to make a chicken paillard.
Enjoy this chicken marsala recipe!
Chicken Marsala
Instead of the traditional veal, this version uses chicken breast, pounded thin into a "palliard". I find a whole chicken breast too much even for my husband, but adjust according to your family's appetites.
Ingredients
- 2 chicken breasts butterflied and pounded thin. You'll end up with 4 pieces.
- 1/4 to 1/3 cup flour seasoned with salt and pepper
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1 medium shallot minced
- 1/2 pound mushrooms sliced
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 6 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 to 3/4 cup dry Marsala wine depending how thin you want the sauce
- Salt and pepper
Instructions
- Dredge breasts in seasoned flour.
- Heat 4 tablespoons of olive oil in a heavy bottomed skillet over a medium heat. When the oil begins to shimmer, add the chicken pieces, 2 at a time depending on the size of your skillet, and cook about 2-3 minutes per side, until light golden brown, remove and cover with foil. Keep warm in oven.
- Heat 2 more tablespoons of oil and 2 tablespoons butter to skillet, and add mushrooms, shallots and garlic. Saute until the mushrooms are light golden brown.
- De-glaze pan by adding the Marsala to the pan and scrapping the bottom. Cook a couple of minutes until sauce is reduced a bit.
- Add 2 tablespoons of butter, whisking to incorporate.
- Return the breasts to the pan to warm in the sauce.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
Jim Riley says
Looks fantastic. Had to do that right before dinner, didn’t you Cynthia?
Cynthia says
That’s the idea!
Jared Lebo says
You don’t say sweet or dry and how much marsala?
Cynthia says
Jared, thanks for catching that! I use between a 1/2 and 3/4 cup of marsala depending on how thin or thick I want the sauce. I also use just a generic Marsala, a bit on the sweeter side.