Friday, September 11, 2009

Altered States of Chicken Marsala


I have a recipes for chicken marsala and chicken cacciatore that I often confuse. So what, right. Dinner is a recipe that only resembles its written form, resembling most what I have in the fridge. So here is my chicken marsala/cacciatore, adapted for 2 from what's in the fridge. Original recipes serve 4-6 people

  • Chicken Breast (how much do you got? I only have one, but 4-6 boneless in the original recipe)
  • 2 Red Bell Peppers -sliced (cacciatore -chopped)
  • 1 Large Onion -chopped
  • 1/2 lb. Mushrooms -halved (cacciatore -sliced)
  • 3 Garlic Cloves -pressed or chopped (cacciatore -2 cloves)
  • 1 Lemon
  • 1/4 Cup Chopped Fresh Parsley or 1 TBSP Dry Parsley
  • 1 TBSP Chopped Fresh Basil or 1/4 TSP Dry Basil
  • 1/2 Cup Flour
  • 1/2 Cup Tamari (cacciatore does not call for this)
  • 3/4 Cup Red Wine (that's what I got, but marsala calls for Marsala Wine or 1/2 cup white for cacciatore)
  • 1 14 oz. can whole plum tomatoes or several fresh and skinned (marsala does not call for this)
  • Salt
  • Pepper
  • Olive Oil

Cacciatore and Marsala call for serving over Brown Rice. I have Whole Wheat Rigatoni, so that's what I am going to use. I also have 3 small white eggplants and two really small purple globe eggplants. I'm going to add those to this as well as some fresh chopped tomatoes.

See, I'm just winging it.

Directions:

Cut chicken into cubes and squeeze lemon over them. In a bag or bowl, throw the flour and a tsp of salt. Throw in chicken cubes and coat with flour mixture. Now brown the chicken in a skillet primed with the olive oil. When golden brown, set aside. In the same skillet, add the garlic, the onion, peppers, mushrooms, parsley, and basil (and in my case, the eggplant and tomatoes!). Saute for about 5 minutes. Now add the browned chicken, the tamari and wine. Cover and simmer for about 20 minutes. Make sure to have your pasta water boiling or rice cooker on the move so that your starch is ready for the simmering mixture. When done, salt and pepper to taste. If you please, add the grated cheese of your choice. I'll probably add Pecorino Romano, but then who knows -maybe parmeggiano reggiano.

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