isithalal.food · Recipes
Chicken marsala without wine
Samuel Goldsmith's chicken marsala with flattened Halal chicken breasts, golden mushrooms, shallots and a cream sauce, made with Halal stock in place of the 200 ml of marsala wine.
Each method follows published technique for the dish, and every Halal substitution is checked against the ingredient pages we cite. Photographs come from our ingredient library rather than the finished dish.
Why Halal checks matter here
Chicken marsala is named for its 200 ml of marsala, a fortified wine reduced into the sauce; the chicken needs Halal slaughter and the stock is a meat product.
Halal-critical ingredients
- Marsala wine: The published recipe reduces 200 ml of marsala, a fortified wine, into the sauce. Wine is the khamr the Qur'an forbids, and on this site that includes wine cooked into food. Use the same amount of extra stock, as here. See Wine.
- Chicken stock: Bought chicken stock is a meat product, and UK stock cubes such as OXO and Knorr contain meat fat that is not certified Halal. Use a Halal-certified stock or a vegan vegetable stock. See Stock cubes.
- Chicken breasts: Chicken is a Halal bird, but slaughter decides whether the meat is Halal. Buy from a Halal butcher or in a certified pack. See Chicken.
Ingredients
Chicken marsala
- 4 Halal boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 3 tbsp plain flour, seasoned with salt and pepper
- 3 tbsp vegetable, sunflower or olive oil
- 25 g butter
- 500 g mushrooms, sliced
- 2 shallots, finely diced
- 2 large garlic cloves
- 200 ml Halal chicken stock or vegetable stock (our swap for 200 ml marsala wine)
- 150 ml Halal chicken stock or vegetable stock
- 150 ml double cream
- a handful parsley, chopped, to serve
- to serve lemon wedges, to serve (optional)
Method
- Flatten and flour the chicken. Put the Halal chicken breasts between two sheets of baking parchment and bash with a rolling pin until about 1 to 1.5 cm thick. Season the flour with salt and pepper on a plate and turn each breast in it to coat.
- Brown the chicken. Heat 1 tbsp oil and the butter in a large frying pan over a medium-low to medium heat and brown the chicken all over, about 4 to 6 minutes. Set aside on a plate.
- Cook the mushrooms. Add the mushrooms to the pan and cook for 8 to 10 minutes until the liquid they release evaporates. Drizzle in another 1 tbsp oil and fry until golden, then set aside.
- Build the sauce. Add the remaining oil and fry the shallots for 6 to 8 minutes until soft but not golden. Stir in the garlic for 2 minutes, then pour in the 200 ml of stock that replaces the marsala, turn the heat up to medium and cook until reduced by half.
- Simmer and finish. Pour in the 150 ml of stock and return the mushrooms and chicken. Simmer for 10 to 15 minutes, lowering the heat and covering if the sauce reduces too much, until the chicken is cooked through and the sauce fairly thick. Stir in the cream, scatter over the parsley and serve with lemon wedges, if you like, and rice, mash or pasta.
Allergens
gluten (flour), milk (butter, double cream)
How this recipe was researched
Method adapted from BBC Good Food's 'Chicken marsala' by Samuel Goldsmith (serves 4: 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts bashed to 1 to 1.5 cm and coated in 3 tbsp seasoned flour; browned 4 to 6 minutes in 1 tbsp oil and 25 g butter; 500 g sliced mushrooms cooked 8 to 10 minutes until their liquid evaporates, then fried golden in another 1 tbsp oil; 2 diced shallots softened 6 to 8 minutes in the remaining oil, 2 garlic cloves for 2 minutes; 200 ml marsala reduced by half; 150 ml chicken stock, the mushrooms and chicken simmered 10 to 15 minutes; 150 ml double cream stirred in; parsley and optional lemon wedges). We specified Halal chicken and a Halal or vegetable stock, and replaced the marsala with the same amount of extra stock, reduced the same way; that swap is ours, not the source's. Timings follow the published technique rather than a kitchen test.
Photograph of a chicken marsala by jeffreyw (CC BY 2.0), not the finished dish from this recipe.