Nigella Lawson Chicken With Red Grapes And Marsala

Nigella Lawson’s chicken with red grapes and Marsala pan-fries chicken supremes until the skin is golden, then roasts them with grapes in a Marsala, stock and mustard sauce. The grapes soften and burst, sweetening a rich, savoury syrup. It serves two and takes about half an hour, most of it hands-off in the oven.

The recipe is from At My Table, as seen on her BBC series, and it’s built for cold evenings with barely any effort. The Marsala, a fortified Sicilian wine, brings a deep, slightly caramelised sweetness that plays off the roasted grapes. A teaspoon of Dijon in the sauce keeps it from tipping too sweet, so it stays savoury.

The one detail that makes it feel restaurant-smart is pouring the sauce around the chicken, not over it. Nigella reduces the pan juices to a syrup, then pools them around each piece so the crisp skin stays crisp. Tip it over the top and that golden skin you worked for goes soft in seconds.

Nigella Lawson Chicken With Red Grapes And Marsala

Recipe by Pinch PerfectCourse: DinnerCuisine: BritishDifficulty: Easy

Servings

2

servings

Prep time

5

minutes

Cooking time

30

minutes

Calories

520

kcal

Total time

35

minutes

From At My Table, as seen on her BBC series. A fast one-pan chicken supper with roasted red grapes in a Marsala and mustard sauce, reduced to a glossy syrup.

Ingredients

• 4 x 15ml tbsp (60ml) Marsala

• 4 x 15ml tbsp (60ml) chicken stock

• 1 tsp Dijon mustard

• 1 x 15ml tbsp regular olive oil

• 2 chicken supremes

• approx. 20 seedless red grapes

• approx. 1 x 15ml tbsp thyme leaves, plus a few sprigs for sprinkling

• To serve:

• a baguette or new potatoes

Directions

• Preheat and mix: Preheat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan). Mix the Marsala, stock and mustard together in a little jug.
• Heat the pan: Heat the oil in a solidly made frying pan or very shallow casserole that the chicken will fit into fairly snugly, and that can go on the hob and in the oven.
• Brown the skin: Fry the chicken supremes skin-side down for 5 minutes, until the skin is golden.
• Add the sauce and grapes: Turn the chicken skin-side up, add the Marsala mixture and let it bubble up quickly, then drop in the grapes and sprinkle in most of the thyme leaves. Bring back to a bubble.
• Roast: Transfer to the oven and cook for 20 minutes, until the skin is bronzed and crisp and the chicken is just cooked through and tender.
• Reduce and serve: Lift the chicken and grapes onto two shallow bowls or plates. Put the pan over a high heat and bubble the juices for 2-3 minutes, until slightly reduced to a savoury syrup. Pour it around, but not over, the chicken to keep the skin crisp. Scatter with thyme leaves and sprigs and serve, with a baguette to dip or some steamed new potatoes alongside.

FAQs

What is Marsala, and what can I use instead?

Marsala is a fortified wine from Sicily with a deep, nutty, faintly caramelised flavour, a bit like a savoury sherry. It’s what gives the sauce its rich, warming depth against the sweet grapes. If you don’t have it, a medium dry sherry or Madeira is the closest swap; avoid sweet dessert wines, which would make the sauce cloying.

What are chicken supremes, and can I use ordinary breasts?

A supreme is a skin-on chicken breast with the little wing bone still attached, which is what gives you that crisp skin and a neater roast. A plain skin-on breast works perfectly well if you can’t find supremes. You do want the skin on, though, since crisping it is half the point of the dish.

Why roast the grapes instead of adding them fresh?

Roasting softens the grapes so they slump and burst, releasing their juice into the sauce and turning jammy and sweet-savoury. Fresh grapes stirred in at the end would stay firm and taste raw against the rich chicken. Seedless red grapes are ideal, since they hold together just enough without needing to be pipped.

Why pour the sauce around the chicken and not over it?

This is Nigella’s restaurant trick: pooling the syrup around each piece keeps the crisp skin crisp, where drenching the top would turn it soggy. It also looks smarter on the plate, with the glossy sauce framing the bronzed chicken. Give the pan juices those 2-3 minutes to reduce first, or the sauce will be thin rather than syrupy.

Can I make this ahead?

It’s really a cook-and-eat-now dish, since the whole appeal is the crisp skin and the just-reduced syrup. You can mix the Marsala, stock and mustard ahead and have the grapes ready, which cuts the active work to minutes. Reheating a cooked one softens the skin, so it’s best made fresh for two rather than batch-cooked.

What should I serve with it?

Nigella suggests a baguette for dipping into the rich, chickeny juices, or some steamed new potatoes alongside. A pile of her potato salad works for a more summery plate, or plain greens keep it light. Whatever you choose, make sure there’s something to soak up that savoury Marsala syrup.