A rich yet simple dish: Chicken Marengo. June 1800. After winning the brutal battle of Marengo, norhtern Italy, Napoleon was hungry. His kitchen convoy had gotten destroyed during the battle, but his chef Dunard was very quick on his feet. He gathered some ingredients: a chicken and its eggs, some herbs, tomatoes, and a craw fish. This dish was so good that Napoleon wanted it after every battle ever since!. In my version I used a small lobster, roasted tomatoes and mushroom. I bet you will love it too!
Ingredienti
- 500 gchicken (1 lb)
- 120 gmushroom (4 oz)
- 1Onion (small, diced finely)
- 100 gPancetta (3 oz diced)
- 1Lemon (Zested)
- 4 cucchiaiFlour (1 Tbs)
- 80 mlWhite Wine (1/3 C)
- 300 mlchicken broth (1 1/3 C)
- 3egg yolks
- 75 gSour Cream (1/3 C)
- 1Juice of a lemon (Medium sized lemon)
- 500 gCherry tomatoes (Charred, or baked)
- 2Lobsters (Medium size, cut in half)
- 1 ciuffoParsley (Chopped)
Preparazione
Wash the cherry tomatoes, place them (uncut) in a baking sheet, drizzle with salt and olive oil to taste. Bake them at 400 F until lightly charred. Set aside. NOTE: I added a bunch of basil, just for flavor, but it totally optional Cut the lobsters in half, and sprinkle them with a mix of parsley, garlic, salt and bread crumbs. Bake, covered with foil at 400F for about 20 min or until tender. Alternatively, just sear in butter, or boil. I recommend to prepare the seafood while the chicken sauce is reducing.
Wash and clean the mushrooms, cut them in half. Pat dry. Place about 3 T of oil and a clove of garlic in a large skillet. When the garlic starts to sizzle, add the mushrooms, side cut down. Sear. Shake the pan to ensure the mushrooms are uniformly cooked, every so often. The mushroom need to cook on high heat so they won’t release their water. Add a pinch of salt. Set aside.
Pat the chicken dry. Dredge in corn starch or flour. Sprinkle with salt to taste. Brown the chicken in a skillet with about 2 T of olive oil and 2 T butter. Add more butter if needed. The flour tends to absorb some of it. Deglaze with half of the wine. Once the chicken is browned, set it aside. Proceed to use the same pan to caramelize the onions with the Pancetta. On low heat, When the onion starts to brown too much, add the other half of the wine. When the pancetta is cooked and crunchy, return the chicken to the pan. Cover with chicken broth and cook on medium low.
While the chicken cook, prepare the Fricassee or Egg yolk gravy. Place the egg yolks and sour cream in a medium size bowl, and whisk together. Add the juice of the lemon and the zest of 1/2 lemon. More if needed. Temper the sauce by using some liquid from the pan, and incorporate it slowly. About 5 Tbs. Pour the egg yolk sauce to the chicken pan, and cook on very low heat until thickened. TASTE FOR SALT, add IT IF NEEDED.
To plate: arrange some of the chicken, and cover with the sauce. Garnish with mushrooms and cherry tomatoes and seafood if desired. Sprinkle with parsley and serve warm.
NOTE: this dish comes together really quickly. Sometimes I do not have seafood to go with it, so I use Bottarga Powder to enhance its flavor. Just a little bit, grated, on top. Enjoy!!!
