Chicken Marsala

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• 2 cups dry Marsala
• 4 teaspoons unflavored gelatin
• 3 ounces Shitake mushrooms sliced
• 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, trimmed (6-8 ounces each)
• Kosher salt
• Fresh black pepper
• ¾ cup all-purpose flour
• ¼ cup plus 1 teaspoon vegetable oil divided
• 3 ounces pancetta cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1 pound cremini or button mushrooms trimmed & sliced thin
• 1 shallot minced
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1 garlic clove minced
• ¼ cups dry sherry
• 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon minced fresh oregano
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter cut into 6 pieces
• 2 teaspoons minced fresh parsley

• In a medium saucepan, set over high heat, bring 2 cups Marsala, gelatin and shitake mushrooms to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until reduced by half, about 7-9 minutes.
• While the sauce reduces, cut each chicken breast into 3 pieces: first halve the breast crosswise and then halve the fatter, remaining piece lengthwise. There should be 3 cutlets of similar size. Place cutlets between sheets of plastic wrap and pound each to ½-inch even thickness. Place all the cutlets in a large bowl and sprinkle with 2 teaspoons kosher salt and ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper.
• Set aside 15-20 minutes.
• Pour the Marsala sauce through a fine-mesh strainer set over a medium bowl. Press on the remaining solids to extract as much liquid as possible and discard solids. Pour the liquid back into the saucepan, add broth, and bring the mixture to a boil over high heat.
• Immediately reduce the heat to medium and simmer about 15-20 minutes or until reduced to 1½ cups; set aside.
• Place a wire rack in a rimmed baking sheet. Place flour in a shallow dish and dredge cutlets (one-at-a-time) in the flour – be sure to shake off any excess flour. Place cutlets on the prepared wire rack.
• In a 12-inch skillet, set over medium heat, heat 2 tablespoons oil just until smoking. Carefully, place 6 cutlets in skillet and cook, without moving the cutlets, until golden brown, about 3 minutes. Flip the cutlets and cook until golden brown on the second side, another 2-3 minutes.
• Set the cutlets back on the wire rack and repeat the process with 2 additional tablespoons of oil and the remaining 6 cutlets.
• Set the now empty skillet to medium-low heat and add pancetta. Cook until the pancetta in brown and crispy, about 4 minutes, scraping the pan often to loosen any tasty bits stuck to the bottom of the pan.
• Add cremini mushrooms and cook, stirring and scraping the bits off the bottom, until mushrooms have released their liquid and begin to brown. Cook until the liquid evaporates, about 7-9 minutes.
• Use a slotted spoon to transfer the mushroom/pancetta mixture to a small bowl; set aside.
• Set skillet over medium-low heat and add the remaining 1-teaspoon oil and the shallot. Cook about 1 minute to soften the shallot. Add tomato paste and garlic, stir and cook about 30 seconds to bloom the garlic.
• Add the reduced Marsala mixture, dry sherry, lemon juice and oregano. Bring to a simmer and add the chicken. Simmer 3 additional minutes, flipping after 1½ minutes.
• Set cutlets on a serving platter.
• Remove the skillet from the heat and whisk in the butter. Add the parsley and cremini mushroom/pancetta mixture. Taste and season with additional salt & pepper, if needed.
• Spoon the sauce over the chicken and serve over a bed of noodles or rice or mashed potatoes.
• Enjoy!

• Cut the chicken breast into similar sized pieces and flatten them out to ensure they cook evenly and all the way through. Pounding them also helps to tenderize them.
• This recipe is best served as soon as it’s made, but you can make the marsala sauce and mushroom pancetta mix ahead of time.
• If you are gluten-free, be sure to check out my Gluten Free Chicken Marsala!