Chicken Marengo

I have made this recipe twice and both times have failed to successfully capture a “finished” photo…perhaps the third time will be the charm, but in the meantime I decided to share this with you anyway. Wikipedia tells me that chicken Marengo is a French dish, originally named to celebrate Napoleon’s win in the Battle of Marengo. It also tells me that it is supposed to be garnished with fried eggs and crayfish but that these are often omitted. I think this is similar to Julia Child’s “Napoleon’s Chicken.”

Cutting up the raw boneless chicken thighs was not a whole lot of fun, but if you can make it past that part, then this recipe is pretty tasty. 

It is important to cook the pieces of chicken in a single layer to get them to brown properly. If you have to cook it in two batches (as I did), I would recommend using 1 Tablespoon of oil at a time and wiping out the bottom of the pot in between batches. Otherwise, the yummy brown bits that become part of the sauce when you deglaze the pan will become not so yummy burnt black bits. I speak from experience…

The first time I had this with pasta, and then I made it with polenta. Pasta was much easier for me than polenta, but that might be because I managed to burn myself as I was whisking in the cornmeal. I also thought it was kinda bland.

Chicken Marengo

Browned chicken thighs

Source: Crunchy Creamy Sweet
Serves: 4

Ingredients
4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 2″ pieces
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1/2 large yellow onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup white wine
1 can (14 ounces) diced tomatoes
1 cup chicken broth
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 cup sliced black olives

Directions
1. In a large ziploc bag, toss the chicken in the flour, salt, and pepper.

2. In a large pot or Dutch oven, heat the oil on medium. Cook the chicken in a single layer until browned, 3-4 minutes per side. Remove from pot and set aside on a plate.

3. Add more oil to the pot if needed. Add onion and cook for 2-3 minutes, until it is softened. Add garlic and cook for 30 seconds.

4. Add wine and deglaze the pan (scraping up all those yummy brown, not black, bits). Add tomatoes, chicken broth, Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes, and olives. Bring to a boil.

5. Add chicken back to the pot. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 20-25 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through and the sauce has thickened.