Chicken Marsala

A classic Sicilian dish.

Chicken Marsala is one of the most beautiful expressions of Italian-American cooking — a dish with deep roots in the western Sicilian city of Marsala, where the rich, amber fortified wine that defines this recipe has been produced since the late 18th century. Born from the cucina of western Sicily and carried to American shores by Sicilian immigrants who brought their culinary traditions with them and planted them firmly in the fabric of this country's food culture, Chicken Marsala found its true home in the red sauce restaurants and home kitchens of Italian-American communities and never left. Thin, tender cutlets of chicken are pounded delicate and golden sautéed in butter and olive oil until they develop a light, golden crust that is the perfect canvas for what comes next. Earthy mushrooms cook down in the same pan, soaking up all of those beautiful fond-rich drippings, and then a generous pour of Marsala wine goes in and the whole pan comes alive — the wine reducing into a glossy, deeply complex sauce that is simultaneously sweet and savory, rich and bright, with a warmth and depth that only a great fortified wine can bring. Finished with butter that melts into the sauce and gives it that silky, restaurant-worthy finish, Chicken Marsala is rustic and refined all at once — a dish that carries the history of a people, a place, and a glass of wine in every single bite.