Chicken Marengo – The Post-Victory Fave

SPINETTA MARENGO, ITALY– June 14, 1800 — Today, the battle was won so quickly by the army of 27-year-old Napoleon against the Austrians, that he returned to camp with an empty stomach well before the food supply wagon showed up. This created a quandary for Chef Dunand. The tale of Chicken Marengo — The Post-Victory Fave — is a story of invention under pressure. As “Boney’s” victorious soldiers raided the northern Italian countryside for food and drink for themselves, Dunand deployed his kitchen staff into the nearby villages to rustle up ingredients for the Commander’s victory meal.

Soon they returned to reveal the mystery ingredients, a la a Chopped After Hours episode: a loaf of bread, olive oil, a chicken, eggs, ripe tomatoes, onions, mushrooms, olives, garlic, olive oil and crayfish. Then Dunand conjured a dish he titled Poulet Sauté à la Marengo or, Chicken Marengo — The Post-Victory Fave that would become an enduring and delicious French classic that is beloved on our table to this day.

Note: I have yet to add crayfish to this dish, although I’m told that we can catch them at Miramonte Reservoir, here in southwestern Colorado.

Chicken Marengo – The Post-Victory Fave

Serves 4; Preparation time: 20 minutes; Cooking time: 45 minutes

Ingredients

• One chicken, 3 pounds, cut into serving pieces
• Salt and pepper
• 6 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large onion, cut in rough dice
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 4 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 cup dry white wine
• Bouquet garni (parsley, bay leaf, thyme)
• 1/2 pound mushrooms, quartered
• 4 slices sourdough bread
• 20 black olives, pitted
• 1 cup pearl onions, glazed (optional)
• 4 eggs, 4 crayfish (both are optional)
• Fresh chopped parsley

Directions

1. Heat olive oil in a large skillet set on medium high heat.
2. Pat chicken dry, season with salt and pepper then dredge in flour, shaking off excess.
3. Sauté the chicken until golden, about 7 minutes for each side. Remove the chicken and set aside.
4. Sauté the onions in the same skillet until golden brown, stirring occasionally, and adding more olive oil if necessary.
5. Add chopped garlic to the pan and sauté one minute, until fragrant.
6. Add the tomato paste to the pan and stir in well.
7. Add wine and stir in and add the bouquet garni. (I place them in the sauce without a cheesecloth bag.)
8. Return the chicken to the skillet, laying it on top of the sauce then cover and simmer for 15 minutes. If the sauce is too thick, add more wine.
9. Add salt and pepper to taste and add the mushrooms and olives. Simmer another 10 minutes.
10. Remove the crusts from the bread and cut each slice diagonally. Sauté in butter and olive oil until brown.
11. (Gently fry eggs, and remove crayfish head and legs then gently sauté.
12. Assemble plates with two pieces of fried bread, lay a joint of chicken on top and ladle some sauce over it. (Add the egg and crayfish to the plate.)

Making Chicken Marengo – The Post-Victory Fav: A Story in Pictures