This is what we had for dinner on Friday, and it was amazing! We served it with a loaf of East Hill Farm bread, that we toasted in the oven with a garlic-parsley compound butter. The truth is, this recipe is inspired by the traditional Chicken Marsala, but it instead depends on the flavor of a nice Sauvignon Blanc, and we made roast apples and carrots rather than cooking up mushrooms. I perfected the technique for making a great wine and chicken stock reduction sauce when I took a cooking class yesterday morning at the cooking store Sur La Table at my local mall. I was able to apply the technique that I learned from making the Sur La Table version of Chicken Marsala and Chicken in Tarragon sauces in order to perfect my own recipe that is free of eggs, nuts, soy, and shellfish. This recipe could easily be modified to be kosher and/or gluten-free as well. It is a simple and versatile recipe that can be served on its own for a relatively quick dinner, or accompanied by lots of side dishes for a really special evening of food and fun. We chose the food and fun approach!
So, here's the recipe!
Chicken in White Wine Reduction Sauce
You will need...
2 lbs of chicken breast tenders or thinly sliced/butterflied chicken breasts
dusting of flour, approx 1/2 cup
salt
handful of fresh parsley
1/2 cup white wine, we used Sauvignon Blanc
1 cup chicken stock
2 cloves of garlic, smashed
1 tsp butter for cooking
olive oil for cooking
1 yellow onion
Directions:
Clean the chicken of any tendons and skin. I like to cut the tenders in half so they are a bit easier to work with and cook faster.
Dice the onion finely. Chop the parsley in a rough-chop.
Cover a plate with 1/2 cup of flour, and then dip each piece of chicken in the flour to form a very light coating of flour on each side. As soon as it is all floured, turn on your pan to medium heat and add a swirl of olive oil and your tsp of butter. Sprinkle the chicken with salt. Add it to the pan and cook until golden brown on both sides, then remove to a plate. It will not be cooked through, so don't taste it yet!
Make the pan sauce: To the same pan, add your wine, and stir around the pan, scraping up all of the browned bits from the bottom of the pan with your spoon or spatula. When the wine has reduced by half, add the chicken stock, and reduce the liquid again by half.
Now add the onion and cook about 5 minutes until starting to become translucent, then add the garlic and cook 2 more minutes. Add the parsley, and add back the chicken to the pan. Cook for about 2 to 3 minutes on the first side, then flip the chicken and cook for another couple of minutes. All of the chicken should be cooked through, although it will take a few extra minutes if you use larger pieces than we used.
Serve the chicken with something to soak up the sauce, like bread or rice pilaf. Enjoy!
Garlic-Parsley Compound Butter
Mince 2 cloves of garlic. Chop one handful of parsley as finely as possible. Soften a stick of butter by leaving it on the counter for an extended period of time. Or if you are in a hurry, microwave it for just a few seconds. Cut the butter into small pieces as if you are making a pie crust. Add everything to a bowl, and use a fork to smoosh the butter against the sides of the bowl in order to incorporate the garlic and parsley pieces into the butter. Stop smooshing when you have a fairly homogeneous mixture. Spread on bread, and put the bread in the oven for 4 minutes preheated to 250 degrees to lightly toast the bread and really melt the butter. Yum!!!
Roast Local Apples
Buy about 4 or 5 different types of apples. Core them, and roughly cube them into large pieces, leaving the skin on. Drizzle with the juice of 1 lemon, a generous glug of olive oil, and a pinch of salt. Roast at 400 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes. If you are roasting something else that takes a different temperature, put them in at that temperature anyway, and simply check on them more often in order to take them out at their optimal done-ness. You will know they are done when they look mushed up, but still maintain the reminder of their original shape.
Note on Timing of the Cooking: If you want to make the whole meal, start by making a loaf of bread, and then put the apples in while the bread is baking. Then make the compound butter and let it sit until the bread is cooled enough. When the bread has just come out of the oven, make the chicken, and by the time the chicken is just about done, you can slice the bread, slather on the butter, and return that to the oven while you set the table. Buon appetito!
So, here's the recipe!
Chicken in White Wine Reduction Sauce
You will need...
2 lbs of chicken breast tenders or thinly sliced/butterflied chicken breasts
dusting of flour, approx 1/2 cup
salt
handful of fresh parsley
1/2 cup white wine, we used Sauvignon Blanc
1 cup chicken stock
2 cloves of garlic, smashed
1 tsp butter for cooking
olive oil for cooking
1 yellow onion
Directions:
Clean the chicken of any tendons and skin. I like to cut the tenders in half so they are a bit easier to work with and cook faster.
Dice the onion finely. Chop the parsley in a rough-chop.
Cover a plate with 1/2 cup of flour, and then dip each piece of chicken in the flour to form a very light coating of flour on each side. As soon as it is all floured, turn on your pan to medium heat and add a swirl of olive oil and your tsp of butter. Sprinkle the chicken with salt. Add it to the pan and cook until golden brown on both sides, then remove to a plate. It will not be cooked through, so don't taste it yet!
Make the pan sauce: To the same pan, add your wine, and stir around the pan, scraping up all of the browned bits from the bottom of the pan with your spoon or spatula. When the wine has reduced by half, add the chicken stock, and reduce the liquid again by half.
Now add the onion and cook about 5 minutes until starting to become translucent, then add the garlic and cook 2 more minutes. Add the parsley, and add back the chicken to the pan. Cook for about 2 to 3 minutes on the first side, then flip the chicken and cook for another couple of minutes. All of the chicken should be cooked through, although it will take a few extra minutes if you use larger pieces than we used.
Serve the chicken with something to soak up the sauce, like bread or rice pilaf. Enjoy!
Garlic-Parsley Compound Butter
Mince 2 cloves of garlic. Chop one handful of parsley as finely as possible. Soften a stick of butter by leaving it on the counter for an extended period of time. Or if you are in a hurry, microwave it for just a few seconds. Cut the butter into small pieces as if you are making a pie crust. Add everything to a bowl, and use a fork to smoosh the butter against the sides of the bowl in order to incorporate the garlic and parsley pieces into the butter. Stop smooshing when you have a fairly homogeneous mixture. Spread on bread, and put the bread in the oven for 4 minutes preheated to 250 degrees to lightly toast the bread and really melt the butter. Yum!!!
Roast Local Apples
Buy about 4 or 5 different types of apples. Core them, and roughly cube them into large pieces, leaving the skin on. Drizzle with the juice of 1 lemon, a generous glug of olive oil, and a pinch of salt. Roast at 400 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes. If you are roasting something else that takes a different temperature, put them in at that temperature anyway, and simply check on them more often in order to take them out at their optimal done-ness. You will know they are done when they look mushed up, but still maintain the reminder of their original shape.
Note on Timing of the Cooking: If you want to make the whole meal, start by making a loaf of bread, and then put the apples in while the bread is baking. Then make the compound butter and let it sit until the bread is cooled enough. When the bread has just come out of the oven, make the chicken, and by the time the chicken is just about done, you can slice the bread, slather on the butter, and return that to the oven while you set the table. Buon appetito!