Mock Chicken Marsala Recipe

What the Heck is Mock Chicken Marsala?

As a follow up to my last post about Chef Liz Scott’s incredible cookbook, The Sober Kitchen, I want to share with you her recipe for Chicken with Mock Marsala Sauce. As one of the most popular and frequently requested recipes on my site, Chef Scott takes this classic Italian recipe and provides you a alcohol free version that should satisfy anyone who tries it.

Chef Scott is a professional chef and caterer who specialize in preparing foods rich in nutritional needs for anyone recovering from illness and disease including alcohol and drug dependence. As a graduate of The French Culinary Institute, now called the International Culinary Center, in New York City, she has focused her talents by helping others in recovery.

Chicken Mock Marsala from The Sober Kitchen

Chicken and Veal Marsala are typically made with the fortified wine, Marsala, combined with chicken or veal stock and reduced to a pan sauce. Sometimes mushrooms and cream are also added.

You can see another version for Chicken Marsala with the classic wine on my web site. I even wrote an ecookbook called Chicken Marsala Perfected with the help of my friend Chef Ricco. It is more than a recipe but a cooking lesson for sautéing and making pan sauces.

For Chef Scott to make a “Marsala free” version, she needed to find a way to substitute ingredients that would replicate the flavor provided by Marsala wine as well as thicken the sauce.

A combination of white grape juice and sherry vinegar is “a standard wine substitution” and “with a dark, full-flavored broth, you’ll get the consistency and color”. She then added a little vanilla to “wake up the sauce”. Combined, these ingredients will make a delicious mock Marsala sauce that will have your family and friends guessing what are the ingredients.

Chef Scott’s cookbook, The Sober Kitchen is filled with creative ideas like this. I have been reading her book for the past few days and am amazed at how much I am learning about nutrition and how my diet affects my personality. Liz doesn’t come across as one of those boring experts. Just the opposite, her writing is very conversational and filled with simple suggestions that have me thinking about food in a new way.

Here’s her recipe for Mock Chicken Marsala. Chef Scott says if you are going to add mushrooms, “brown them quickly in the pan after you remove the chicken fillets and before you add the juice and stock.” Be sure to slice the mushrooms thin.