Portobello Marsala

Does anyone know how to spell portobello? Portabella?! I don't know.

This recipe was actually supposed to be chicken marsala for dinner tonight, but I forgot to defrost the chicken and so now all we have are mushrooms. Which turned out to be just fine.

Marsala (not be confused with masala, a blend of spices commonly used in Indian and SE Asian cuisine) is a fortified wine, which I have never in my life had as a beverage. In fact, the only marsala I've ever purchased has been in the cooking section of the supermarket, which has salt and other things added to it, rendering it undrinkable. It has a distinctive taste and is not really substitutable with red or white wine. It goes great with mushrooms, and as you will see, I used whatever I had at home, but you can use whatever crazy combinations of mushrooms you have - button, cremini, portobello, you name it.

Ingredients:

:: 2 portobello caps, thinly sliced and cut into thirds or bite-sized pieces

:: 1/2 pound creminis, stems removed, thinly sliced
:: 3 cloves garlic, finely minced
:: 2 tbsp olive oil
:: 2 tbsp butter
:: 1/2 onion or 2 shallots, chopped
:: 2 tbsp flour
:: 1/2 cup marsala wine

:: 1 cup chicken stock

:: 1/4 cup heavy cream or half-and-half (optional)

:: handful parsley, chopped (optional)

:: 1/2 box pasta, I like linguine!

Boil a giant pot of water, salt it, and cook pasta according to the box directions.

Melt olive oil and butter over medium heat. And no, I am not crazy for using both. Butter tastes great, but the milk solids burn. Adding the oil allows you to cook at higher heat without that being a big issue. Let the garlic cook until aromatic, about 1 minute. Add onion or shallots, cook until soft, about 5 minutes.

Add in all the mushrooms and cook until they begin to brown, about 10 minutes. Usually, when making chicken or veal marsala, the cutlets are dredged in flour, seared, and then liquid is poured on top. The flour serves not only to give the meat a nice brown sear, but also helps to thicken the sauce. Since I am skipping this step (which you are more than welcome to do!), I added in 2 tbsp flour to the mushrooms and cooked it a little longer so that when the liquids are added in, they will thicken into a nice creamy sauce.

Looks like a lot of mushrooms, doesn't it? They cook down to virtually nothing!

I hope you're salting and pepper-ing along the way!

Pour in wine, deglaze the pan and scrape up any brown bits. Turn up to high heat and let boil for 30 seconds. Pour in chicken stock, let cook for another 5-10 minutes until the sauce thickens. You can add in cream at this stage if you are using it, or a little more wine if the marsala flavor has been diluted. Parsley goes in at the very end, right before you serve this to the table.

Grated cheese? Yes, please!

I've also served this over simple garlic mashed potatoes. Yum!