Cooking Chemist

Happy World Nutella Day!  For those of you not familiar with Nutella, it’s a delicious chocolate hazelnut spread founded by an Italian company.  It used to be more challenging to find but now you can pick it up at most local grocery stores and trust me, it’s worth it!  Simply spread on a piece of toast or drizzle over vanilla ice cream and you will be hooked.   I know there are lots of great recipes out there using Nutella so if anybody would like to share one that would be great!

However, the recipe I’m sharing today is a take on chicken marsala courtesy of my absolute favorite Food Network chef, Giada De Laurentiis.  As always,  I did take some liberties with this recipe – one of the main things I changed was the fact that I did not add mushrooms.  Traditionally marsala dishes always include mushrooms but that is one thing that the Cooking Chemist just does not like so you won’t see too many fungi dishes on this blog.  However, if you are a mushroom lover this would be a perfect recipe to add some in.  I’ll point out the spot in the recipe on when best to add the mushrooms if you are so inclined.

Oh, just wanted to give a few hints on what to expect next week from the Cooking Chemist.  I’m making some Italian Wedding Soup tonight so I’ll share that experience with you.  Also, I’m making buffalo chicken dip and lemon cupcakes this weekend for a Superbowl party that I’m attending on Sunday.  I’ll also be running a contest to win a free cookbook and reviewing some of my favorite kitchen gadgets.  Sounds like the Cooking Chemist will be busy!

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, each breast cut crosswise into 3 pieces (3 to 4 breasts)
• Salt and pepper
• 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 3/4 cup chopped onion
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic
• 1 cup Marsala wine
• 1/2 cup mascarpone cheese (4 oz.)
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves
• 12 ounces dried long pasta (linguine or fettucine work best)

Directions

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta  and cook according to directions (al dente).  Drain. Toss the pasta with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and season, to taste, with salt and pepper.

While the pasts is cooking, sprinkle both sides of the chicken with salt and pepper.   Heat the remaining olive oil in a heavy large skillet over high heat. Add the chicken and cook just until brown, about 4 minutes per side. Transfer the chicken to a plate and cool slightly.

While the chicken cools, melt the butter in the same skillet over medium-high heat, then add the onion and garlic and saute until tender, about 4 minutes. If you were using mushrooms you would add them at this point and cook until tender. Add the wine and simmer until it is reduced by half, about 4 minutes – make sure to lightly scrap the bottom of the pan to loosen the brown bits from the chicken which adds more flavor to your sauce. Reduce the heat to medium-low and stir in the mascarpone and mustard.  Return the chicken and any accumulated juices to the skillet and simmer until the chicken is just cooked through and the sauce thickens slightly, about 2 minutes. Stir in the chopped parsley and season with salt and pepper.

Swirl the pasta onto serving plates. Spoon the chicken mixture over top and serve.  I also sprinkle some extra parsley on top of the dish for extra color and flavor.  I served a mixed green salad with this meal as well.

Tags: chicken, marsala, mascarpone, mushrooms, nutella