A scrumptious sauted chicken meal, in which the sweetness of the caramelized onion mingles beautifully with the savory Marsala wine.

The following recipe was remembered in haste as the Frugal Gourmet was moving on to other things. Consequently, the dish has probably mutated a little since his version.

  1. Heat a skillet over medium heat. Add enough olive oil to coat the inside of the pan.
  2. Pound four chicken breasts until they are about an inch thick.
  3. Dredge the chicken breasts in a mixture of two cups flour, one tablespoon salt, and one tablespoon pepper.
  4. Saute the chicken breasts, browning them on both sides. Remove and cover.
  5. Pour a third of a cup of white wine into the pan and let it swirl around for a minute.
  6. Add one chopped yellow onion and four minced garlic cloves to the pan. Cook until the onions are soft.
  7. Add one half cup of Marsala wine to the pan. Cook until the smell is so overpoweringly yummy that you have to eat it now!
  8. Pour the sauce over the chicken. Share and enjoy!
I usually serve it over angel hair pasta. Some people put mushrooms in the recipe, too (in fact, one of my ex-girlfriends was convinced they're required!).

This recipe could be improved by dredging the chicken in flour first, then putting it through an egg wash, and again through more flour. This is a great way of making sure the flour sticks to the chicken. When the chicken recieves only one dredging of flour, the coating may come off in the pan, especially if you do not use a non-stick pan. Furthermore, a non-stick pan will deprive you of the fond or browned bits which are the foundation of this sauce. Some people put the chicken through the egg wash first, but since eggs are slimy and so is the raw chicken, the egg doesn't adhere to the chicken. By dredging in flour, egg, flour one creates the best possible coating.

Slicing the garlic instead of mincing it will give it a more mellow flavor and will allow the flavor of the Marsala to predominate.

Reducing the sauce for 4 minutes at the end and enriching it with 1 tablespoon of butter or 1/4 cup of heavy cream will also make the sauce more unctuous.

This is one of those recipes that you just kind of throw together, and I know some people hate that, they want to know just how big is a pinch, and how many grinds of pepper, and what size the eggs are and whatnot. Maybe you like to measure the water when you make Kraft Dinner, too, and that's fine, but this is not that kind of recipe.

This is where you get home from work and think, what the heck else can I possibly do with a frozen chicken breast?

This also assumes you are the kind of person who just happens to have sundried tomatoes (which yes, I know they're passé but I like them, fuck you) and artichoke hearts and Marsala wine around the house all the time. Not to mention saffron.

So, if you're still reading this, I'm assuming you're okay with all that. Here we go.

Things You Need

What To Do

  1. Defrost the chicken.
  2. Put it in a bowl and add some olive oil (not a lot) and some Marsala (kind of a lot).
  3. Chop up the tomatoes and artichoke hearts and put them in, too.
  4. Add some salt and pepper, and a little sugar but not very much.
  5. Put in a few saffron threads--if it's good saffron you won't need much--and a little nutmeg.
  6. Stir everything together and let it sit for a while, mixing it around every so often.
  7. While you're waiting, get out some vegetables or salad ingredients (if you can find any) so you can have a balanced meal.
  8. Make sure you wash anything that has touched the raw chicken with soap and hot water, or else you might get salmonella, which I hear is not fun.
  9. When you think it's marinated enough, or when you just can't stand it any more, put the chicken and the marinade in a frying pan and cook it on medium heat, covered, until it is cooked through. Turn it over once or twice so both sides are browned.
  10. If there is still too much liquid left when the chicken is done, turn up the heat and reduce it a bit after you take the chicken out of the pan.
  11. Put the chicken on a plate with your vegetable or salad item and pour the sauce over the chicken.
  12. Share and Enjoy

Easy Chicken Marsala

Ingredients

Chicken (usually several breasts or tenders)
Butter
Sliced Mushrooms
Marsala Wine

Melt the butter over fairly high heat in a skillet or frying pan. Add the chicken. Add a decent quantity of sliced mushrooms. Allow to cook untill one side of the chicken is browned. Flip and stir chicken and mushrooms. Add Marsala wine (to taste, or to the amount of sauce desired). Allow chicken to finish cooking. Serve with veggies, noodles, or anything your heart desires.

Note: the key to this recipe is the butter. Your sauce is dependent on having enough butter. A Marsala sauce without enough butter will end up tasting like wine, which is not the desired result. This is not for heart-smart, low fat cooks. Though it is healthier than spaghetti carbonara, or anything deep-fried.

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