chicken marsala risotto

chicken marsala is one of my all time favorite dinners, but i rarely order it in a restaurant. maybe it's just me, and my dumb luck, but almost every single time i've ordered it, there's something drastically wrong. rubbery mushrooms. the sauce is too thin. the sauce is too thick. the sauce is tasteless. there's no garlic. dried out chicken. chicken drenched in uncooked flour. either way you look at it, a decent chicken marsala is hard to come by around these parts.

which brings me to one of my favorite kinds of pasta: risotto. this time, i flavored it with everything found in chicken marsala - chicken breasts, meaty mushrooms, marsala wine, and parmesan cheese - plus peas for good measure, and only dirtied one pot. and of all the risotto i've made in the last two years, this one is definitely in the top two, if not number one.

not a fan of chicken marsala? try one of these other risottos: peas and chicken, tomato basil,  portobello, vanilla strawberry & vanilla peach, three cheese, bacon, peas, & leeks, tomato & corn, gruyere, or baby tomato and spinach.

have leftover risotto? make risotto cakes or stuff a portobello cap for something different.

chicken marsala risotto

45 minutes, four main course servings

4 cups chicken stock

4 tablespoons unsalted butter
few tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, finely diced

4 cloves garlic, minced

16 ounces baby portobello mushrooms, sliced
1 cup arborio rice

1/2 cup marsala wine

2 chicken breasts, cut into thin strips
1 cup frozen or fresh peas

1 cup parmesan cheese

1. bring the stock to a simmer in a saucepan and keep hot.
2. in a large saute pan or dutch oven, heat the butter and oil over low heat. saute the onions for a few minutes, until almost translucent. turn the heat up to medium low, add the garlic and mushrooms and cook until the mushrooms are soft, about five minutes.
3. add the arborio rice and cook, stirring frequently, until the rice is toasted, about three minutes.
4. add the marsala wine and cook, stirring frequently, until absorbed.
5. add about one cup of the hot stock to the rice and mix to coat. cook for a few minutes, stirring occasionally, until most of the liquid has been absorbed. 
6. add the chicken and stir to make sure the pieces don't cook together. continue adding about a cup of stock and cooking the rice until all of the stock has been added.
7. when the last bit of stock has been added, mix in the peas, and cook until absorbed. add parmesan cheese, season with salt and pepper, and serve.