Chicken Marsala
Photography by Minka Firth.
In this meal, Marsala wine adds a deep richness to the sauce. The chicken is best served with creamy potato and grilled sourdough bread.
Serves: 4
INGREDIENTS
6 boneless chicken thighs, skin on
½ cup flour
1 tablespoon olive oil
knob of butter
2 teaspoons finely chopped thyme or rosemary
200 grams thick cut streaky bacon, thinly sliced
350 grams button mushrooms, wiped clean
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
½ cup Marsala
½ cup red wine
½ cup chicken stock
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 bay leaf
2 tablespoons chopped flat leaf parsley
To serve
hot, creamy mashed potatoes with wilted spinach
4 slices of grilled sourdough bread
METHOD
Cut each chicken thigh in half and trim off any excess fat. Put the flour in a shallow bowl and season well. Coat the chicken in flour, shaking off the excess.
Heat the olive oil and butter in a large sauté pan over a medium heat and brown the chicken on both sides. Don’t have the oil too hot or the flour will burn. Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside. Add the thyme, bacon and mushrooms and cook for 5 minutes over a medium heat.
Add the garlic, Marsala, red wine, chicken stock, tomato paste and the bay leaf. Stir to release any sticky bits on the base of the pan and cook for 1 minute. Put the chicken back in and stir to coat in the sauce. Cover and cook for 20-25 minutes or until the chicken is cooked and the sauce is syrupy. If the sauce is too thin and the chicken is cooked, remove the meat and reduce the sauce over a high heat. Add the chicken back to the pan and combine with the sauce. Stir in the flat leaf parsley and taste for seasoning.
To serve: Divide the mashed potatoes between warm serving bowls. Top with 3 pieces of chicken and spoon over the sauce. Serve each with a piece of grilled sourdough bread.

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