Chicken Marsala with Mushroom Risotto

After buying a bottle of marsala wine to make my tiramisu and obviously I know wouldn't be using the whole bottle to make the tiramisu so I started to look for recipes to use up the remaining marsala wine. And if you Google marsala wine, the first food will definitely be Chicken Marsala but please do not be confused with the Indian Chicken Masala. This Chicken Marsala is nothing India about it but Italian.

And being myself, I would never allow myself to cook just the chicken without whipping out something to go with it and what is more Italian then a risotto. Found a recipe from my favorite chef, Gordon Ramsay and make some modification to it to suit what I have in my pantry to come out with my version of the Mushroom Risotto.

Recipes (serve 4)

For the Chicken Marsala 

1/4 cup       plain flour
1/2 tsp        salt
1/4 tsp        ground black pepper
1/2 tsp        dried oregano
4                 skinless chicken breast
4 tbsp         butter
4 tbsp          olive oil
1 cup          slice mushroom ( I use portabella)
1/2 cup       marsala wine
1/2 cup       chicken stock
few sprig of fresh oregano
2 clove of garlic, un-peel but smashed lightly

Method

• Mix the flour, salt, pepper and dried oregano together 
• Pound the chicken breast to ensure even thickness
• Coat the chicken in the seasoned flour
• Melt butter in the olive oil and add in the chicken
• Pan fry till lightly brown, turn over, add mushroom, fresh oregano, garlic
• Pour in Marsala wine, be careful as it will flambe. 
• Add in chicken stock 
• Cover and simmer for about 5 min 
• Remove chicken and set aside
• Deglaze the pan with a little more marsala, about 1/2 cup. Reduce to a syrup like sauce. 

Mushroom risotto 

1 large     shallot (finely chopped)
2 clove    garlic (finely chopped)

4 tbsp      olive oil

200g        baby portabella mushrooms

280g        arborio rice (I use carnaroli but any kind will do)

1/2 cup    dry white wine

4 cups      low sodium chicken broth

1 tbsp       fresh basil

1 tbsp       fresh parsley 

2 tbsp       marcarpone cheese

3 tbsp       freshly grated parmesan

Sea salt and pepper to season 

Method 

• In a large sauce pan, sweat the shallot and garlic in the olive oil in low heat for about 3 to 4 minutes
• In a separate saucepan, heat the chicken broth. 
• Add in the mushrooms and saute for a further 5 minutes until the mushroom softened, stirring frequently 
• Stir in the rice and cook for another min or 2. Add the wine and stir. Cook until all the liquid is absorbed, stirring frequently 
• Gradually add the broth over the next 15 minutes, adding more as each amount is absorbed by the rice. This will help to give a creamy texture.Keep stirring frequently. 
• When the rice is al dente (a little resistance in the middle when you bite in), add the herbs, taste check and stir in the cheeses. 
• The risotto can be serve alone with fresh shaved parmesan too.  

To finish the dish, simply serve the chicken on a bed of mushroom risotto and ppour some of the sauce over the chicken and around the plate.