Chicken Marsala with Endive

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Marsala wine is dry or sweet, which comes from the Italian city of Marsala in Sicily. It was traditionally served between the first and second courses of a meal as an aperitif. Endive is a member of the chicory family, which also includes radicchio and escarole. It is crisp, sweet, nutty and mildly bitter. It is quite difficult to grow, requiring 150 days in the field and then cold storage until needed, then another 28 days for the second growing period. This is a nice quick recipe from Gordon Ramsay for chicken breast or thigh marinated with olive oil/ salt with a marsala/chicken broth sauce. Simple steps highlighted below, detailed summary in the video.

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Brown chicken with endive and garlic in a hot pan

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Turn over and add marsala wine and chicken broth

Add parsley, thyme or tarragon for flavor. Serve with rice or pasta.

Pappardelle Sweet Potato Alfredo

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When the Spanish came to the New World in search of spices and treasures they found three new crops: corn, white potato and the sweet potato. The sweet potato was originally cultivated by the Incan and pre-Incan races for thousands of years, named a “batata”. This recipe is a sweet potato puree used as a pasta sauce, perfect for the winter months.

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  • 2 medium sweet potato
  • 1/4 sweet onion
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 1/4 cup cashews
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon tomato paste
  • salt & pepper to taste
  • 1 tablespoon rosemary, chopped
  • 1/2 cup of water to thin sauce
  • Egg Pappardelle or any pasta
  • ¼ cup chives
  • a few pinches of red pepper flakes
Instructions
  1. Peel the sweet potato and slice into quarters. Toss with a drizzle of olive oil, salt and pepper. Heat in the microwave with potato setting until soft, covered.  Remove from the oven and set aside to cool slightly.
  2. Meanwhile, cook your pasta until al dente, keep some pasta water for the sauce.
  3. In a food processor add sweet potato, onion, garlic, olive oil, balsamic, tomato paste, rosemary, salt and pepper. Puree, adding water to thin. I also added a tablespoon of spicy hot oil.
  4. In a large skillet add cooked pasta with some of the water to the sauce until it is the right thickness. Add chopped chives, and a pinch of red pepper flakes. Taste and adjust seasonings and serve.
 Mangia!