Original chicken Marengo from 19th century Italy
The story goes that, on the 14th of June, 1800, Napoleon Bonaparte, after having won the Battle of Marengo in Northern Italy against Austria, felt hungry. The supply hustle had been separated from the troops, and so Napoleon’s cook Dunant sent out soldiers to the nearby village to see what they could find. They returned with a chicken, some tomatoes, a few eggs and two crayfish (or, in another version, mushrooms): together with the Napoleon’s personal wine reserve and some old bread the cook could fry up, these are the ingredients for Dunant's chicken Marengo, since then a popular dish in France and Northern Italy. So far the legend. Only, that it is not true.
Tomatoes do not appear in Northen Italian or French recipes before the 1840ies, so it is quite unlikely that Dunant would have found that ingredient in a village a good forty years earlier. Chicken Marengo as we know it today was presumably created much later, most likely in Paris, and, from the beginning, with many different variations.
I am sticking to Pellegrino Artusi's recipe for Chicken Marengo from his cookbook “La scienza in cucina e l’arte di mangiar bene“ (The Science of Cooking and the Art of Eating Well) published in 1891. It lacks tomatoes, crayfish and eggs!
“Take a young chicken, remove the neck and legs, and cut into large pieces at the joints. Sauté in 30 grams of butter and one tablespoon of olive oil, seasoning with salt, pepper, and a dash of nutmeg. When the pieces have browned on both sides, skim the fat and add a level tablespoon of flour and a deciliter of wine. Add broth and cover, cooking over low heat until done. Before removing from the fire, garnish with a pinch of chopped parsley; arrange on a serving dish and squeeze half a lemon over it. The result is an appetizing dish.“
You need: chicken pieces, butter, olive oil, salt, pepper, nutmeg, flour, white wine, chicken broth, parsley, lemon
Stay tuned - there are more historical recipes to come on this culinary archaeology channel. You can find more recipes in my cookbooks GARUM: Recipes from the Past“, From Eden to Jerusalem: Recipes from the Time of the Bible“, or VEGETUS: Vegetarian Recipes from the Past“.
FRENCH STYLE CLASSIC CHICKEN MARENGO
I did my own style by not stewing the chicken as usually prepared, because I want the chicken to remain crispy,,,and I have no source to get wine or beer...
Chicken Marengo is a French dish consisting of a chicken sautéed in oil with garlic and tomato, garnished with fried eggs and crayfish. The dish is similar to chicken à la Provençale, but with the addition of egg and crayfish, which are traditional to Chicken Marengo but are now often omitted.
Stew Chicken Marengo Recipes
Learn how to make Chicken Marengo with a difference and whip up this version with mushrooms, olives, tomato, and parsley!
Ingredients:
- chicken - 600-700 gr. (breast, can be legs)
- bacon - 100 gr.
- champignons - 300g. (fresh)
- onions - 2 pcs. (average)
- butter - 40 g.
- chicken broth - 200 ml.
- dry white wine - 200 ml.
- Tomato paste - 1 tbsp.
- Flour - 1 tbsp.
- Olive oil - 2 tbsp.
- parsley - 2 tbsp.
- salt, pepper - according to taste
How to cook:
1. Onions cut into thin half rings.
2. Mushrooms clean, cut into plates.
3. If you cook with breasts, cut them into small pieces.
4. In a saucepan with a thick bottom, heat the olive and butter, fry the meat on it until golden brown.
5. To the chicken add bacon, onions and mushrooms, mix and stew for 10 minutes.
6. Then pour in wine, broth and tomato paste, salt and pepper. Reduce heat and simmer another 30-35 minutes.
Sprinkle with parsley.
Bon Appetite!
Browse Cooking Equipment:
Browse Small Equipment:
Chicken Marengo | French Cuisine #Marengo
This is a delicious and juicy historical French chicken dish that was very much enjoyed by Napoleon. It is packed with flavour and tastes good when served with rice. And the greatest thing is that, it can be made in no time.
#chicken #LizasSecretGarnish
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Welcome to Liza's Secret Garnish official YouTube Channel! My name is Elizabeth and I'm actually from Kerala in the tropical South of India. As a complete contrast, I've been living in the subarctic north of Sweden for more than a decade. I’m a wife and mother to four beautiful girls.
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