Classic Chicken Marsala

This classic American-Italian Dish is comfort food at it’s best. Crank up the Pavarotti, uncork a bottle of wine, and prepare yourself for a meal that will challenge the best New York Italian hole-in-the-wall joint any day. Best part? Easy: 30 minutes start to finish.

Ingredients

1. 2 chicken breasts, butterflied in half lengthwise, pounded to 1/4 inch thickness. Seriously, if you don’t know what I’m talking about, read this.
2. 1/4 cup flour
3. Generous pinch Kosher salt
4. Generous few grinds course black pepper
5. Pinch paprika
6. 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
7. 1/4 cup olive oil
8. 5oz prosciutto, torn into strips by hand
9. 8oz Cremini mushrooms, halved or quartered depending on size
10. 3-4 cloves garlic, finely minced
11. 1 small shallot, finely minced
12. 1 cup dry Marsala wine
13. 2 cups low sodium chicken stock
14. 1 packet unflavored gelatin
15. 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
16. 2 tablespoons heavy cream or Mexican Crema
17. 1/4 teaspoon sugar
18. 2 teaspoons white wine vinegar (or any vinegar will do)
19. Parmesan cheese, for garnish
20. 1 lb angel hair pasta, cooked according to package directions

Mise En Place

1. Butterfly chicken breasts and pound to 1/4 inch thick cutlets using a mallet, rolling pin, or the side of a glass bottle. Use glancing blows, and be gentle.
2. Place pounded chicken cutlets in a plastic or paper bag along with flour, Kosher salt, black pepper and paprika. Shake vigorously until well coated and set aside.
3. Tear prosciutto into strips by hand. Set aside
4. Halve or quarter mushrooms, depending on size: You want them to still be identifiable at the end of the dish, so we’re going for medium size pieces here.
5. Mince garlic and shallot (no shallot? Use 1/4 of an onion) and reserve in a small bowl
6. Measure out 1 cup dry Marsala and reserve
7. Measure out 2 cups chicken stock and sprinkle with 1 packet unflavored gelatin
8. Measure out cream and reserve.
9. Locate sugar, vinegar, and salt as needed

Method

1. Heat 1/4 cup olive oil and butter over medium-high heat in a large skillet or sauté pan. It should be shimmering but not smoking (if it begins to smoke, don’t worry, just lower the heat a bit).
2. Lay chicken cutlets into the pan. Confidently lay them away from you in case any fat spatters – hot fat can smell fear, so be quick and careful.
3. Fry chicken cutlets until nicely browned, 3-5 minutes, and flip, cooking another 2 minutes. If they’re not completely cooked through this is okay; they’ll finish cooking in the sauce at the end. Reserve on a plate.
4. Add mushrooms. There will be a lot of fat in the pan which the mushrooms will quickly absorb.
5. Sauté until the pan begins to look somewhat dry and the mushrooms begin to brown
6. Add prosciutto and continue to stir until prosciutto begins to brown and render its fat
7. Add garlic and shallot and continue to sauté until fragrant, about 2 minutes.
8. Crank up the heat. Add Marsala wine and flambe, or cook down for a few minutes until the raw alcohol has evaporated.
9. Add chicken stock (with gelatin) to deglaze the pan, stirring and scraping up any brown bits on the bottom of the pan.
10. Reduce heat to medium, and continue to cook until sauce is somewhat thickened, about 3-5 minutes.
11. Add in heavy cream and bring to a simmer; continue to reduce until sauce is desired consistency
12. Taste sauce for seasoning. Add sugar, vinegar, salt as needed.
13. Lower heat to medium- low. Return chicken cutlets to pan and simmer until fully cooked through, 5 minutes.
14. Garnish with parsley. Serve over pasta with Parmesan cheese.