It is Fast Friday again and time for another fast and fabulous dinner suggestion. If you are anything like me, by the time Friday rolls around the last thing you want to do to cook a big meal yet we all still have to eat. The dishes featured in this series aren’t necessarily fancy but they bring together simple ingredients most people already have in their pantries or have easy access to and allow you to put a real meal on the table in between 30 and 45 minutes. Enjoy and if you have your own fast recipes you want to share, please send them my way and I will in turn share them with all of my readers.
Chicken Marsala is a family favorite in our house and this recipe from America’s Test Kitchen is my all time favorite. Sweet Marsala wine combined with mushrooms result in a rich sauce that is the perfect topping for boneless chicken breasts. If you can find them, I like to use chicken breast filets since they are thinner and cook up in just a few minutes. If you only have chicken breasts you can either pound the meat into a uniform thickness or slice the breasts in half to make them thinner. When paired with a pasta or mashed potatoes, this dish is fast and you can have dinner on the table in a matter of minutes. Alternatively, you can make the chicken ahead of time and let it sit on a warm burner for up to two hours before serving.
CHICKEN MARSALA
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
4 boneless chicken breasts or 8 chicken breast filets
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 ounces pancetta, finely chopped
8 ounces white button mushrooms, sliced thin
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon tomato paste
1 1/2 cups sweet Marsala wine
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons fresh minced parsley
Salt & pepper to taste
- Place the flour in a shallow pan and generously season with salt and pepper. Dredge the chicken in the flour mixture and set aside.
- Add 2 tablespoons of oil to a large skillet and heat over medium-high heat until shimmering.
- Add the chicken and cook until light golden brown on both sides, about 10 minutes for chicken breasts and 3-4 for chicken breast filets. Transfer to a plate.
- Add the remaining tablespoon of oil to the skillet and heat until shimmering.
- Add the pancetta and mushrooms to the skillet and stirring occasionally, cook until the pancetta is crisp and the mushrooms are brown, about 10 minutes.
- Stir in the garlic and tomato paste. Cook until the tomato paste begins to brown, about 1 minute.
- Stir in the Marsala, scraping up any browned bits. Simmer until reduced and slightly syrupy, about 8 minutes.
- Stir in the lemon juice and any accumulated chicken juices. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the butter, one piece at a time.
- Return the chicken to the pan.
- If you serving the chicken immediately, proceed to the next step. Alternatively, cover the pan and return it to low heat until ready to serve.
- Add the parsley and season with salt and pepper.
Serves 4
