Chicken and mushrooms cooked in Marsala wine is a beautiful marriage that only takes a short time to prepare. I don’t care for Marsala wine on its own, but I love to cook with it.
Marsala wine comes from the town of Marsala, Italy, on the island of Sicily. It’s a fortified amber-colored wine made from a variety of white grapes. I use the inexpensive Marsala cooking wine you find in grocery stores and it works just fine.
1 pound cremini mushrooms (baby portabellas)
2 pounds chicken tenders
2/3 cup Marsala wine
½ cup chicken broth or stock
1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg
Clean mushrooms, remove stems and cut in half. Melt a couple of tablespoons of butter in a large skillet and sauté mushrooms until tender, about 5 minutes. Remove from pan with slotted spoon into a bowl and set aside.
Heat a little olive oil to same skillet, add chicken tenders in single layer and cook over medium-high heat, lightly browning both sides.
Add Marsala and broth to pan and simmer 10 minutes, or until liquid is reduced (there should be just a little sauce). Return mushrooms to pan, add nutmeg and season with salt and pepper. Heat through 5 more minutes before serving. This makes enough for 4 – 6.
Notes: Feel free to add more Marsala to the dish while you’re cooking it, if needed. Don’t use nutmeg from a can – buy the nuts and use a fine grater because the flavor is so much better. Steamed broccoli is a perfect side dish for this healthy dinner.