Rachel Roddy's recipe for chicken scaloppine with mushrooms and marsala
The term escalope is borrowed from the old French escalope, meaning 'shell or carapace', which is likely to be borrowed from the old Norse skalpr ('sheath') or Middle Dutch schelpe ('shell'). This explains the shape, and why the word evolved to describe a slice of meat that has been pounded until it's the same slimness all over.
This week's recipe is inspired by the restaurant Bocca Di Lupo in Soho, which a few months ago, after a night at the theatre with my parents, was one of the few places still open and more than welcoming to walk-ins at 10.30pm. Sitting on the high stools at the end of the long, marble bar, Dad chose ravioli filled with ricotta and spinach, while Mum and I had scaloppine di pollo al marsala e funghi (thin chicken escalope with mushrooms in a soft, slightly thickened marsala sauce). The meal and wine would have been superb in any circumstance, but the feeling of relief combined with the particular thick atmosphere that fills some restaurants at that point in the evening – charged with work and pleasure but starting to wind down – made this a particularly enjoyable meal.
It's one I have repeated several times since, following a recipe in a September 1983 edition of the magazine La Cucina Italiana, which comes close to the plate we were served at Bocca Di Lupo. The process of pounding helps to tenderise the meat, but it also means that the cooking is relatively quick and even.
A note about marsala, which is Sicilian fortified wine made from three grapes (grillo, catarratto and inzolia) and characterised by tumultuous fermentation and ageing in oak barrels. Like any fortified wine, marsala varies dramatically, but, broadly speaking, the most helpful categorisations relate to its sweetness: secco (dry), semisecco (semi-dry) or dolce (sweet). And its age: fine (aged for at least one year), superiore (aged for at least two years) and vergine or soleras (aged for at least five years). Marsala's rich praline and raisin flavour is central to today's dish and brings everything together, so look out for secco or semisecco marsala superiore, and enjoy a glass while you cook.
Serve immediately, making sure every piece comes with enough mushrooms and some of the marsala gravy. Mashed or boiled potatoes are good here, as is green salad; bread, too.
Serves 4
4 boneless and skinless chicken breasts (each roughly 160g)100g flour seasoned with salt and pepper
Olive oil
60g butter
2 shallots, peeled and diced300g mixed mushrooms, cleaned and thinly slicedSea salt and black pepper120ml marsala
75ml chicken stock
2 tbsp minced parsley
Slice each chicken breast in half horizontally, then place each piece between two sheets of clingfilm or greaseproof paper and use a rolling pin or meat mallet to bash the thickest part with an outward, stretching movement, so the whole thing widens into an escalope about 6mm thick. Dredge both sides of each piece of chicken in the seasoned flour, and tap off any excess.
Working in batches, and warming a little olive oil and butter each time, fry the chicken for about three minutes, until golden brown on the underside, then turn and fry on the other side for another two minutes. Lift out on to a warmed plate, loosely cover with foil to keep warm, and repeat with the remaining scaloppine.
Once all the browned scaloppine are on the covered plate, warm two tablespoons of olive oil and 20g butter in the same pan, add the shallots and saute until soft. Add the mushrooms, season with salt and pepper, and saute for four to six minutes, until lightly browned. Add the marsala and leave to bubble in a lively way for about three minutes, until slightly syrupy. Add the stock and leave to bubble again until you have a gently thickened sauce.
Take the pan off heat and swirl in the remaining butter. You now have two choices: either put the pan back on the heat and return the chicken escalopes in batches, turning them once or twice so they get coated with the sauce; or simply tip the hot sauce and mushrooms all over the chicken escalopes you have set aside on the warmed plate.
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