Pollo alla Marengo

Marengo Chicken is a historic dish, which is said to have been prepared for the first time for Napoleon Bonaparte after the Battle of Marengo. It’s a hearty dish where the chicken is cooked with tomatoes, garlic, and aromatic herbs. Here’s the recipe, with a strong Italian touch:

Ingredients

• 4 chicken thighs (or 1 whole chicken cut into pieces)
• Flour, as needed for dusting the chicken
• Extra virgin olive oil
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 medium-small onion
• 200 ml of white wine
• 400 g of peeled tomatoes or ripe fresh tomatoes
• 150 g of champignon mushrooms (or seasonal mushrooms)
• A handful of black olives
• Chopped fresh parsley
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Chicken or vegetable broth, as needed
• A pinch of sugar (if using peeled tomatoes)

Preparation

1. Start by cleaning and drying the chicken pieces well. Lightly flour them.

2. In a large pan, heat the olive oil and brown the chicken until it is golden on all sides. Remove the chicken and set it aside.

3. In the same pot, add a little more oil if necessary and sauté the finely chopped onion and crushed garlic cloves until they become translucent.

4. Add the white wine to deglaze and let the alcohol evaporate.

5. Add the tomatoes, previously crushed or chopped into small pieces. A pinch of sugar can be added to balance the acidity of the tomatoes. Mix to combine the ingredients.

6. Put the chicken back in the pan and add the sliced mushrooms, olives, salt and pepper to taste. Lower the heat and let it cook covered for about 30 minutes, adding broth if the sauce reduces too much.

7. A few minutes before turning off the heat, add the chopped parsley and stir.

Marengo Chicken is served hot, often accompanied by bread croutons or, if you prefer, by white rice as a side dish.

Curiosity

It is said that the original dish was added with golden bread croutons and fried eggs because Napoleon’s cook improvised with what was available after the battle. However, these additions are less common in modern versions of the recipe.