Chicken Marengo

How to Make Elegant Chicken with Wine and Tomatoes on a Budget

Nov 11, 2009 Jackie Milligan

Chicken Marengo is a great dish to whip up for a family dinner or a holiday gathering. Tarragon and tomatoes give a bright lively flavor, the dish is quick to prepare.

Chicken Marengo or Poulet Marengo has been a staple of French cuisine for a long time. It is said to have first been made by Napoleon's chef as a celebration of Napoleon's victory at the battle of Marengo.

The original version of Chicken Marengo is finished by topping the chicken with crawfish that have been sauteed in butter then topped with a fried egg. To cut down on cost and preparation time, the crawfish and egg have been left out of this version.

The following recipe calls for serving the chicken over a bed of egg noodles. For a more traditional service, omit the noodles and serve with a warm loaf of crusty French bread and butter.

Chicken Marengo

Ingredients:

• 1 # boneless, skinless chicken breast
• 2 med onions
• 2 garlic cloves (minced)
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp flour
• 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1/2 tsp crushed black pepper
• 1/2 tsp thyme
• 1/2 tsp tarragon
• 1/4 cup ketchup
• 8 oz sliced crimini mushrooms
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
• 8 oz wide egg noodles
• 4 tbsp butter
• 1 tsp parsley (dried or fresh)
• 1/2 tsp garlic juice

Method:

1. Cut chicken into 1" cubes
2. Slice onions in half then slice each half into eighths
3. In large frying pan, heat olive oil over med high heat
4. Place chicken pieces into pan sprinkle with salt, add onion and garlic, cook until chicken is browned (about 5 to 7 min)
5. Sprinkle flour over chicken, stirring constantly
6. Pour in wine and stir until a thick paste is formed
7. Add chicken broth while stirring chicken to create a smooth, thin paste
8. Sprinkle in pepper, thyme and tarragon
9. Add ketchup and bring to a low boil
10. Fold in mushrooms and cover
11. Simmer on low heat for 10 to 12 min
12. While chicken simmers, cook noodles according to package directions and drain
13. Add butter, 1 tsp parsley and garlic juice to noodles and stir

Serving:

To serve Chicken Marengo, pour seasoned noodles onto serving platter. Top with chicken and sprinkle with 2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

Note:

The recipe above calls for ketchup. It is used in place of tomato paste or sauce to add a slight tang that works well with the tarragon. Tomato paste or sauce can be substituted for the ketchup. In this case, 1/2 tsp lemon juice should be added to the chicken when the tomato is added.

If you would like to serve Chicken Marengo following the original recipe follow these additional steps:

Saute 1/2 # crawfish tails in 3 tbsp butter. Do this just as the chicken finishes cooking or the crawfish will become cold and chewy.

1. Fry one egg for each person you will be serving.
2. After plating the noodles and chicken, top with crawfish tails then lay fried eggs on top.
3. Eggs may be fried to any degree you desire (up, over easy etc)

The copyright of the article Chicken Marengo in French Cuisine is owned by Jackie Milligan. Permission to republish Chicken Marengo in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

diced chicken

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