For all you marsala lovers out there, this is the recipe you’ve been waiting for. Penne marsala with sausage and rosemary. So, you are probably wondering why I use sausage and not chicken. For some reason, I am not a fan of chicken in my pasta. Shrimp, I love (check out this recipe)…sausage or meatballs, of course, chicken I can take or leave. Not sure why…I guess it is just one of my hangups. Anyway, lets get down to business. This recipe is out of this world. It is also something different, not a recipe that you come across everyday. It will wow your taste buds and will become a top request by the fam (kids included).
Penne marsala is an earthy, hearty pasta dish to enjoy for dinner.
I love sausage with marsala. The saltiness of the sausage really compliments the rich taste of the marsala wine. And a touch of rosemary adds a piney flavor that puts this dish over the edge. I also add some heavy cream. Because, well let’s be honest, heavy cream makes everything better. And the magic touch is a cup of grated parmigiano reggiano. Add it on top of the hot pasta, and watch the magic happen. It melts right into the pasta and the sauce to make something really special. Ok…lets wipe the drool of our chins and move along.
For all you vegetarians out there, omit the sausage, double the mushrooms, and you have one tasty dish for dinner.
If you don’t feel so great about sausage, you can make this dish vegetarian. However, I would add more mushrooms. Like double the amount. I know it will seem like a lot, but they do cook down a bit. Plus, you need to substitute something for the missing sausage. Extra mushrooms will give this dish a meaty feel, but without the meat. You could also experiment with using different types of mushrooms. Do some cremini, slice big portobellos, sh*take, or porcini. If you use porcini, which usually come dried, you have to reconstitute them. Check out this link on directions to do that. More importantly, do not throw away the reserved liquid. Add a little to the pasta to give a boost to the yummy mushroom flavor.
Check out some different ways to serve “Out of this world penne marsala”
Serve it as a starter to your Thanksgiving Turkey dinner
For some reason, when I think of marsala and mushrooms, I think of autumn. I think its the earthy flavor and texture that make me think of cool crisp air, burnt orange and red trees and that amazing smell of fall. This is a dish that I would serve before the turkey on Thanksgiving. I would probably omit the sausage to make it a little bit lighter before the main course, but to each her own.
Serve alongside a hearty salad
Serve this pasta alongside a healthy salad. I would make a salad with baby spinach, toasted walnuts, dried cranberries and goat cheese. I would dress it in a creamy balsamic vinaigrette. This salad has flavors that have a similar earthy profile to the mushrooms and marsala (and again, reminds me of fall…I am seeing a theme here). In this case, contrary to my recommendation below, I would pair this with an oaky chardonnay. This is the type of dish you could probably do red or white (light red or a heavier white). However, if I am serving with a salad, I would probably opt for the Chardonnay. Of course, you do what your little, wine-loving heart desires.
Serve as the main course with a crusty ciabatta bread
Of course, you can make this dish the star. Serve it with a crusty loaf of ciabatta bread and a nice glass of red wine. Find a seat by the fire and dig in.
Let me know how it comes out! Drop me a comment below 🙂
16 ounces (2 containers) cremini mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon rosemary, chopped
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup dry marsala
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup grated parmigiano reggiano cheese, plus extra for serving
Instructions
Bring a large pot filled with water to a boil. Add 2 tablespoons salt and penne pasta. Cook according to the directions on the box. In the meantime, follow the directions below.
Remove the sausage from the casing.
Add 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive to a large fry pan, on medium heat.
Brown the sausage (about 8-10 minutes) and transfer to a plate lined with a paper towel.
In the same pan, add the sliced mushrooms, minced garlic and chopped rosemary, one tablespoon extra virgin olive oil and two tablespoons butter.
Cook for about 5 minutes until the mushrooms start to brown. Stir constantly so the garlic does not burn.
Add the marsala wine. Raise to medium high heat. Cook for about 10-12 minutes until the liquid bubbles and start to reduce a little.
Reduce the heat back to medium. Add the heavy cream and stir until combined. Continue to cook for another 4-5 minutes.
Reserve 1 cup pasta water. Drain the pasta when it is done.
Add the sausage, cooked penne pasta, and 1 cup grated parmigiano reggiano cheese, and combine.
Add olive oil to heavy hot saucepan. Add onions, garlic, mushrooms, saute until mushrooms are tender. Add flour and cook about 1 minute then deglaze pan with Marsala wine. Add beef stock and cook until thick and flavors are blended.
Add olive oil to heavy hot saucepan. Add onions, garlic, mushrooms, saute until mushrooms are tender. Add flour and cook about 1 minute then deglaze pan with Marsala wine. Add beef stock and cook until thick and flavors are blended.
Use dry marsala rather than sweet marsala which is more commonly used in desserts. Sub with port wine, sherry, or madeira. For non alcoholic version, better to make Chicken with Creamy Mushroom Sauce! 4.
Though both were acceptable, tasters found that dry Marsala offered more depth of flavor, while sweet Marsala added sweetness and some flavor but wasn't as complex. The takeaway? For both savory and sweet applications, we suggest using dry Marsala if a recipe doesn't specify a style.
Although it has Italian roots, via those French chefs, it has become a truly Italian-American dish now, served at Italian restaurants across America, but it's hard to find in restaurants in Italy.
Flour plus fat (butter) = roux. A roux is used as a thickening agent in sauces. Sooo, with the butter from the pan and the butter the mushrooms have absorbed, plus the chicken cutlets coated in flour… This all means when the cutlets get added back to the sauce – that flour and butter combo is what thickens the sauce.
Should you use sweet or dry Marsala in your Chicken Marsala recipe? It doesn't make a huge difference, and either option will produce delicious results, but I would go for dry because the sweet Marsala has a bit too much sugar for such a savory dish.
To make the perfect marsala wine substitute for chicken marsala, replace ½ cup of marsala wine with ½ cup chicken stock, 1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar, and one teaspoon of sugar. Mix the chicken broth mixture into your recipe exactly the same way you would add the marsala.
Madeira (named after the Portuguese island where it is made) uses Sercial, Verdelho, Boal and Malvasia grapes. Marsala, the famed Italian fortified wine some consider one the world's best, is made in Sicily from Grillo, Inzolia (white), Catarratto and Nerello Mascalese (red) grapes.
The younger wines, like the ones you'll find at the bottom shelf of your liquor store, are best for cooking. Sadly, many people don't realize that Marsala makes a great drinking wine, usually as either an aperitif, or appetizer, or a dessert wine.
The main difference between cooking wine and wine that you drink is quality. But just as a fine wine has subtle nuances, so too does the definition of cooking wine.
Maybe you want to serve vegetables with your Chicken Marsala dinner. In this case try the Roasted Asparagus and Tomatoes, Baked Mushrooms in Parmesan Cream Sauce, or the Radish Salad!
Chicken marsala (Italian: pollo al marsala or scaloppine al marsala) is an Italian-American dish of chicken escalopes in a Marsala wine sauce. It is a variation of traditional Italian scaloppina dishes, of which there are many varieties throughout Italy.
While both chicken piccata and chicken Marsala are cooked in the same way, there are a few key differences between the two dishes. Chicken piccata isn't creamy.It's cooked with white wine, chicken broth, capers, and lemon juice.It's tangy and bright instead of rich and creamy.
Marsala is a fortified wine and can be sweet or dry, though most usually the dry version would be used for cooking. Possible substitutes would be a dry Madeira wine or a darker sherry such as Oloroso. If you don't have these then you could also use port or red vermouth.
Sherry, particularly dry sherry, is a good Marsala wine alternative, providing a comparable nutty flavor in both sweet and savory dishes. If the recipe calls for sweetness, consider adding a bit of sugar to the sherry to more closely mimic Marsala's unique taste.
The sauce is made with Marsala wine which is a dry and sweet wine which has a 15-20% alcohol content but don't worry, all of the alcohol will cook out of the sauce. The wine creates a nutty and rich caramelized sauce for the chicken.
Marsala wine is a fortified wine produced near the town of Marsala on the island of Sicily, Italy. Marsala wine is made with local white grape varietals including Grillo, Inzolia, Catarratto, and Damaschino (although it can also be blended with red grapes.)
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