Seasoned chicken breast dredged in flour, sautéed in butter and olive oil. The sauce is made with mushrooms, garlic and shallots, then the pan is deglazed with Marsala wine and chicken broth, add some cream and voila!

Chicken Marsala is hands down my favorite way to eat chicken! So I could not wait to share this recipe with you!

It is delicious with rice, fettuccini or spaghetti with Alfredo sauce! That’s how I used to have it at Rosinella Tratoria back when I lived in Miami and when they used to be in Brickell, a couple of blocks from where I used to work in the financial district.

Obviously, I had to find a way to make it lighter. So that’s what I did. I omitted the flour and I didn’t fry it. I  seared the seasoned chicken with salt, black pepper and a pinch of thyme with a little spray of olive oil in a 12 inch pan and set aside once the chicken was browned on each side.

The most important part is to add the mushrooms and shallots to the same pan you used to cook the chicken. The  brown bits from the bottom of the pan are going to infuse the sauce with a lot of flavor!

Once the mushrooms are browned and the shallots are translucent, pour the wine and scrap the bits from the pan. The wine will evaporate  and thicken a little, then add the broth and lower the heat. Add the chicken to the sauce and let it simmer for a few minutes – about 5-10 minutes or so.

Adjust salt and pepper and you can add a teaspoon of cornstarch dissolved in a teaspoon of water to thicken the sauce. Let is simmer for a couple of more minutes and that’s it! I like to garnish with fresh parsley before I serve it.

I decided to pair it with thin spaghetti with lemon and the combination of flavors was fantastic. Lemon pasta is super easy and light. I adapted the lemon pasta from Giada’s recipe.

Chicken Marsala is traditionally made with cremini or porcini mushrooms. I used cremini and added some shiitake since I had a few leftovers at home. Some people like to add prosciutto as well, it depends on your taste and your preference. There are a lot of variations for this recipe but I like to stick to the simplest one, it is absolutely delicious!

This is a recipe that cooks in no time and will always make you look good, especially when you’re entertaining friends. Here’s the recipe:

Chicken Marsala

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

4 chicken breasts, skinless

8 oz of cremini, white, or porcini mushrooms (I used 5 oz of cremini and 3 oz of shiitake) stemmed and sliced

1 clove of garlic, minced

2 shallots, diced

3/4 cup of Marsala wine

1/2 cup of chicken broth or vegetable broth

1 tsp of cornstarch

1 tbs of water or broth

1 tbs of butter

1 tbs of olive oil

1 tsp of salt

1/2 tsp of black pepper

1/2 of dry thyme

Fresh parsley for serving and garnishing

 

Instructions

Pat the chicken dry with a clean paper towel. Season both sides with salt, pepper, and thyme.

Heat butter and olive oil at medium-high heat on a 12-inch pan. Add the chicken, cook until lightly browned on each side, and set aside.

Do not clean the pan and add the mushrooms and the shallots, add more olive oil if necessary and season with a sprinkle of salt and pepper.  Cook until mushrooms are browned and the shallots are translucent. Stir in the garlic.

Add Marsala wine, stir, and scrap the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Let evaporate and thicken for a couple of minutes. Add the chicken or vegetable broth. Stir and place the chicken back in the pan with the sauce and reduce heat to low. Let simmer for about 5 minutes.

Dissolve the teaspoon of cornstarch with one teaspoon of water and add to the sauce. Add more salt and pepper if necessary. The sauce will start to thicken. Let simmer for 5-10 more minutes.

Serve with fresh parsley on top as garnish.

I paired it with thin spaghetti with lemon. I used 1/3 of the 1 lb spaghetti package, cooked it according to the package instructions, and reserved 1/4 cup of the water where I boiled the pasta.

Add 1 tsp of lemon zest, 1 tsp of butter, 3 tbsp of parmesan cheese and 3 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil, the juice of 1/2 a lemon, and adjust salt and black pepper. Stir in some of the pasta water to dissolve the ingredients. Serve with chopped fresh basil and freshly grated parmesan cheese. You can adjust these ingredients to your preference.

I served the chicken atop and it was delicious!