Chicken Marsala
My family's favorite Italian restaurant in my hometown makes an amazing Chicken Marsala, but it is loaded with butter and heavy cream. This version has all of the flavors but is a lighter and delicious weeknight alternative.
Ingredients
1/2 # regular or whole wheat penne
1 # chicken cutlets (approx. 4-5 cutlets)
1/2 c flour
2 tablespoons olive oil
8-10 oz cremini or “baby bella” mushrooms, sliced thin
1/4 cup chopped shallot
4-5 garlic cloves, minced
1 # broccoli, chopped into 1” florets
1/2 cup Marsala wine
1/2 cup half and half
1/4 cup parmesan cheese + extra for serving
Salt (to taste)
Fresh cracked pepper (to taste)
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley (for garnish)
Instructions
Bring a pot of water to a boil. Once boiling, season with about 2 tsp of salt and add pasta. Cook according to package instructions (approx. 18 minutes). Strain the pasta and reserve 1 c of pasta water.
Place flour in a shallow dish and season with approx. 1/2 tsp of salt and pepper. Lightly dredge chicken cutlets in the flour and shake off the excess.
Heat a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add 1 T of olive oil.
Add 1/3 of the shallot and garlic. Add the chicken cutlets to the pan. If your pan isn’t large enough to hold all of the cutlets without being crowded, cook chicken in two batches.
Cook chicken 3 minutes per side. Remove from the pan and set aside.
Turn the heat down to medium. Add the remaining olive oil, garlic and shallots to the pan. Cook for 2 minutes before adding the mushrooms.
Cook mushrooms for 5-7 minutes then add broccoli to the pan, stirring occasionally. Season with salt and pepper.
Cook the mushrooms and broccoli until mushrooms are browned and broccoli is tender and all of the moisture has cooked off. Stir occasionally while cooking.
Pour the Marsala wine into the pan to deglaze. Scrape up the browned bits with a spoon.
Add the chicken stock and 1/2 c of the pasta water. Simmer for 5 minutes. Stir occasionally while simmering.
Add half and half and 1/4 c parmesan cheese. Stir and simmer for 5 minutes. Stir occasionally while simmering.
Add chicken back to the pan and allow to simmer for 5 minutes on low heat.
If your pan is large enough, add the pasta directly to the pan and stir. If it is not large enough, put pasta in a large serving bowl and pour contents of frying pan over top.
Garnish with remaining parmesan cheese and parsley.
Notes
Alternative to chicken cutlets: 1 # of chicken breast sliced into thin strips
Optional: This is also great with roasted broccoli. If you have the time/want to roast the broccoli, follow these instructions at the start of cooking.
Preheat oven to 425°F. Put chopped broccoli on a sheet pan. Spray with cooking spray or drizzle olive oil on top. Season with salt, pepper, garlic powder and onion powder. Toss to coat evenly with oil and seasoning. Roast for 20 minutes. Add to pan with mushrooms once mushrooms are fully cooked/browned.
Serves 4
