Chicken Marsala with Mushrooms

Ingredients

• 4 chicken breasts, butterflied and flattened slightly
• 2 tbsp plain flour
• salt and black pepper
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 200 ml chicken stock
• 400 g chestnut mushrooms, sliced
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 200 ml dry Marsala wine
• 2 tbsp butter
• mashed potatoes or pasta, to serve
• 15g flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped

Method

1. Pat the chicken dry — water means steam, and steam means no browning. Season generously with salt and pepper on both sides, then dust lightly with flour, shaking off the excess. The flour wants to be a whisper, not a coating.
2. Heat the olive oil in a large stainless or cast-iron pan over medium-high heat until it shimmers. Lay the chicken in two batches — don't crowd the pan. All four at once and the temperature drops, water seeps out, and you've poached the chicken instead of searing it. Cook 4–5 minutes per side until deeply golden and cooked through. Remove to a plate.
3. Drop 1 tablespoon of the butter into the same pan, keep the heat high, and add the mushrooms in a single layer. Leave them alone for the first 2 minutes — that's when they take on colour. Stir occasionally for another 3 minutes until golden brown and any liquid has cooked off. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Stir in the garlic and thyme and cook for 30 seconds, just until fragrant — no more. Burnt garlic turns the whole sauce bitter, so watch it.
5. Pour in the Marsala and let it bubble vigorously for 2 minutes, scraping up every browned bit stuck to the base. Those stuck bits are the fond — they're where the sauce gets its depth, which is exactly why a non-stick pan won't do this job.
6. Pour in the chicken stock, bring to a simmer, and cook for around 5 minutes until the sauce reduces and turns glossy and slightly syrupy — it should coat the back of a spoon.
7. Swirl in the remaining tablespoon of butter off the heat, shaking the pan until it melts into the sauce and goes silky. Taste, season, taste again. Adjust now — at the end, not at the table.
8. If you're serving with pasta, salt that water generously — it should taste like the sea. This is your only chance to season the pasta itself.
9. Return the chicken to the pan along with any resting juices, spoon the sauce over the top, and warm through for 2 minutes. Scatter generously with parsley and bring the pan straight to the table, mashed potatoes or pasta alongside to catch the sauce.