Chicken Marsala

We love mushrooms at our house so I decided to make Chicken Marsala for Martin and Traves. This chicken turned out a lot sweeter than I expected, so if you like sweet chicken and mushrooms you'll love this!



Chicken Marsala

Ingredients:
1/2 cup all purpose flour
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, patted dry with paper towels
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
2-4 slices of pancetta (or 2-3 slices of bacon) cut into 1" pieces
4 ounces white mushrooms, sliced
1 small clove garlic, minced (about 1/2 tsp)
1/2 tsp tomato paste
3/4 cup marsala wine (sweet)
2 tsp lemon juice
2 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened, cut into 2 pieces
1 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley

1. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position, set large heatproof plate on rack, and heat oven to 200 degrees. Place flour in shallow dish. Season chicken with salt and pepper; working one piece at a time, coat both sides with flour.

2. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in heavy-bottomed, 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Cook chicken until golden brown on first side, 2 to 3 minutes. Add remaining oil and using tongs, flip chicken; continue to cook until meat feels firm when pressed gently and second side is golden brown, 3 to 4 minutes longer. Transfer chicken to heated plate and return plate to oven.

3. Return skillet to low heat and add pancetta; cook, stirring occasionally and scraping pan bottom to loosen browned bits, until pancetta is brown and crisp, about 2 to 3 minutes. With slotted spoon, transfer pancetta to paper towel-lined plate. Add mushrooms and increase heat to medium; cook, stirring occasionally and scraping pan bottom, until liquid released by mushrooms evaporates and mushrooms begin to brown, about 4 to 6 minutes. Add garlic, tomato paste, and cooked pancetta; cook while stirring until tomato paste begins to brown, about 1 minute.

4. Off heat, add Marsala; return pan to medium heat and simmer vigorously, scraping browned bits from pan bottom, until mushroom sauce is slightly syrupy and reduced to about 2/3 cup, about 4 minutes. Off heat, add lemon juice and any accumulated juices from chicken; whisk in butter 1 tablespoon at a time. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and stir in parsley. Pour sauce over chicken and serve immediately.