In the spirit of all things meatballs... I attempted a Chicken Marsala meatball over a pasta in the same brown sauce. The meatballs in these photos were made with beef, pork, veal, and fried. You are FREE to do that, but I would also suggest using Turkey or Chicken meat. It's way lighter (has way less fat...) and you can bake it in the oven for 15 minutes at 375 (on a lightly greased baking sheet). The Marsala sauce has a distinct flavor that I would describe as "dark and tangy" with notes of mushroom. I'm personally a huge fan and I would suggest anyone try it! Please look at Instagram highlights for "How-to". Visuals are helpful!
Good for: A special weeknight or weekend meal. Although it is similar to making Francese, the additional steps of cutting and then cooking the mushrooms take some time and add about 20-30 min, taking away from the ease of "under an hour".
Tips:
It's very difficult for me to give exact ratios for the sauce. I've looked them up online and tried to double it since you are putting it on the pasta. But, it's really easy to 'fix'. You use the reserved pasta water if it's too thick, and you have the flour to thicken if too thin. I also add butter for extra flavor.
Make sure you pay attention to the cooking sauce. If you let it simmer too long, it will come apart and burn, and ruin the whole dish. You have to pay attention, whisk, and reduce the appropriate amount of time. Once you have a feel for this type of sauce, it's easy!
In order to make 'paying attention' easy, it's helpful to cook and drain your pasta a few min in advance, put it back into the pot with oil and butter (so it doesn't stick) and go from there. If you're trying to do everything at once, things get confusing.
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