The story goes that Napoleon called his personal cook to produce a meal after his victory at Marengo in 1800. The battle was part of the War of the First Coalition between France and Austria which extended from 1892 to 1801 and took place at Marengo in Northern Italy. By all accounts, this was a particularly bloody battle with heavy casualties on both sides. The challenge for the cook was to create a meal from a chicken, a bottle of wine, some mushrooms and an onion, it is probable that his mind had been elsewhere during the day.
Ingredients (serves 4)
Four chicken breasts, 1/2 lb of mushrooms, an onion (a small English one would be an appropriate reminder of Waterloo which was to follow in 1812), four de-seeded tomatoes, a tablespoon of flour, a sprig of a field herb such as thyme, olive oil for frying and a glass of dry white wine.
Method
Fry the chicken breasts in the oil until light brown. Remove the chicken and place in a dish. Chop the onion finely and fry until transparent in the same oil that was used for the chicken, next add the mushrooms and cook for a few minutes until they have shrunk, throw in the tablespoon of flour and work it into the contents of the pan. Add the wine and a glass full of water and keep stirring whilst the sauce thickens. Finally, return the chicken plus the tomatoes and herbs and let the whole lot simmer for 40 - 60 minutes until the chicken is cooked. If the sauce is too thin, increase the heat towards the end and it will reduce, if it is too thick gently add some more water.
Comment
One version of this recipe features rabbit, another tinned tomato puree and so on, the basic method would adapt to other meats and possibly even sausages. For authenticity, serve with rice which is a native of France and Italy or mashed potatoes if you failed history at school.
Page Created: 11th November 2000