Chicken Marsala

The procedure for preparing this dish was taken from The Olive Garden’s classic dish, while the seasonings and proportion of ingredients are my own. The chicken comes out wonderfully moist and tender, and the flavor of the wine is distinct without being overpowering. I usually prepare the chicken breasts by halving them. If you prefer thinner breasts you could slice each one in half horizontally, and reduce the simmering time a bit.

For the Roux:

Wash the breasts and trim away any fat. Combine the flour, salt, pepper(s) and oregano in a plastic bag and shake well to mix. Drop each breast half in the bag with the flour mixture and shake to coat the chicken thoroughly. Place the breasts on a platter and set in the refrigerator for a half-hour. This allows the flour coating to adhere to the chicken and prevent it from coming off in the pan while browning.

Heat the oil and butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Brown the chicken for 3 minutes on the first side until golden brown. Turn the chicken and brown the second side for 3 minutes. After turning the chicken stir in the mushrooms. When the second side is browned add the wine, cover and slowly simmer for 10 minutes. Test chicken for doneness as the size of the breast may require an additional minute or two of simmering. Remove the chicken to serving platter.

As the chicken is finishing simmering melt the butter for the roux and whisk in the flour. After removing the chicken from the skillet spoon the roux into the wine and mushroom sauce and mix well to slightly thicken. Spoon the gravy and mushrooms over each breast when served.

Notes:

Trim away the "tenderloin" from the underside of each breast half and save for another time.  THis will give the breast halves a more uniform thickness.