Wednesday, February 20, 2008

Mom's Chicken Marsala

Always Good!

One thing you can always count on in this uncertain world is Mom's cooking. This is one dish that my Mom always makes and it's always delicious. She has two versions: Chicken Marsala with Mushrooms and Chicken Marsala with Artichokes. The ingredients tend to change depending on what she has in the house. If she doesn't have mushrooms than she will make it with artichokes. Or if she ran out of marsala wine, then white wine or even vermouth will do. Sometimes she will use chicken breast cut into pieces or more commonly tenderloins.
And it amazes me that no matter what the change, it is always equally good!

Mom never really measures anything, so it was a little difficult to get the recipe on paper. But she did her best and now I offer it to all of you!

Mom's Chicken Marsala


1 lb. chicken tenderloins, cut in half
4-5 garlic cloves, sliced thin
1/2 cup mushrooms, preferably portobello or porcini, (but you could use button), sliced thin
1/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. salt-free all purpose seasoning
1/2 tsp. dried parsley, or 1 tsp. fresh, plus more for garnish
2-3 tbls. olive oil
1/3 cup marsala wine
1 can low-sodium chicken broth (preferably Swanson)
1/2 cup black olives, left whole or cut in half
1/2 cup green olives, left whole or cut in half

Add the flour, salt, pepper, all purpose seasoning, and parsley to a large zip lock plastic bag. Add the chicken and shake until all the chicken is coated.

Add the olive oil to a large pan over medium high heat; add garlic and brown them lightly, remove from pan and set aside. Next, add the mushrooms and cook for 2-3 minutes, remove from pan and set aside.

Remove any excess flour from the chicken; line them up in the pan so they are separated and quickly brown them on both sides.
Add back the garlic and mushrooms to the pan. Add the marsala and cook for a minute or two, until the alcohol burns off. Add the chicken broth, bring to a boil, lower the heat and simmer for about 25 minutes.

Add black and green olives and cook for an additional 10 minutes.

To thicken the sauce, add some of the leftover flour from the plastic bag to a pyrex measuring cup with 1 tablespoon cold water. Mix and add to the chicken; cook for 2-3 minutes more. Serve with noodles and top with fresh parsley.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Ummmm, YUMMY! I love, love Chicken Marsala, love it!! Thanks for putting this out there, I need to revisit this dish.

Emily said...

Oooh, mom's secret recipe. I like it. Especially the olives.
One of my great loves.

The Tomball Three said...

I have always wanted to know this- where do you get marsala wine?

This is the ONLY reason I don't make Chicken Marsala!

Annie said...

Noble Pig, Your welcome! Hope it lives up to your expectations!

Em, Yeah, I love the addition of the olives. I think it makes the dish!

Tomball three, Thanks for visiting... You can get Marsala wine at any liquor store. Try to get "dry" if you can. Good luck!

Cakespy said...

Very tasty and rich. I lovvvvve dishes like this on friday nights with movies at home after!

Susan from Food Blogga said...

Do you know what I think of the minute I hear "chicken marsala"? Tom's Deli in North Providence. They used to have the best chicken marsala. I haven't made it in years. I'll have to save this recipe to try for Jeff. Talk about it being a blast from the past. Thanks, Annie!