Before his reputation nose-dived, I learned many cooking tricks and recipes from Jeff Smith, the Frugal Gourmet. On one of his shows he introduced the basic schema for Chicken Marsala, a quick and simple dish using thin cutlets of tenderized chicken breast meat. Deb and I replicated the basic steps using ingredients we had on-hand, the result being a dish we’ve made countless times, served with white rice.
You don’t need a lot of ingredients. You don’t even need Marsala; I usually use cheap dry champagne (which I keep on-hand for deglazing many different sauces and gravies). For two people, you need:
- 1 large chicken breast
- flour, salt, & pepper for very light coating
- 2 onions, slized on the quarter round
- fresh garlic, 2-3 cloves, thinly sliced
- some chicken broth (less than a cup)
- a bit of Corn Starch (about a Tbsp)
- a large splash of champagne (or marsala)
Cut the breast into three even slices, layer below Saran wrap, and pound to a thin tenderness. I use the spiked side of my meat tenderizer. The slices will be about twice as large as when freshly cut.
Lightly salt and pepper the cutlets, then coat with AP flour. This isn’t a dredge, it’s just a light coating. Set aside while preparing the onions.
Clean and cut the onions. I generate crescents, cutting the onion into quarters through the rootbase, and then slice along a facet of each quarter, turning to expose a larger facet as it gets whittled down. Clean 2 to 3 large garlic cloves
Heat a large skillet with olive oil and butter, then saute the chicken cutlets until lightly browned on both sides. Add the onion, sliding it under the cutlets, and cook until the onion is becomes somewhat clear and any liquid has reduced. It’s nice to caramelize the onions, but not necessary. Deglaze with a small amount of champagne.
Retain the pan at frying temperature, add the sliced garlic. Cook just a moment and then add a bit of chicken broth in which you’ve whisked and dissolved the cornstarch.. At this point you need to determine how much sauciness you want. Balance the thickening from the cornstarch and residual flour from the cutlets with chicken broth so the sauce will make a wet gravy that is great on the cutlets and over rice or egg noodles.
I usually fry this in a nice enameled cast iron pan, so the dish is served in the cooking vessel. Alternatively, if serving with pasta, I think the chicken and sauce could be served on top of platter of freshly cooked noodles.This goes nicely with any number of vegetables, especially corn and grilled/roasted Asparagus, which brings a particularly special, subtle flavor to the plate.
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