This is Chicken Marengo, a Piedmontese dish. Supposedly, it was invented for Napoleon before the battle of Marengo in northern Italy.


1/2 cup olive oil
8 chicken thighs, skinned
1 onion, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
12 oz plum tomatoes, peeled and chopped
1 cup dry white wine
1/2 tsp finely chopped fresh rosemary
20 shrimp (about 1 lbs), shelled
salt & pepper
1 tbsp butter
8 triangles of thinly sliced white bread, crusts removed
chopped fresh parsley


Heat 2 tbsp of the olive oil in a large frying pan. Brown chicken thighs over medium heat, for about 5 minutes, and move them to a large casserole. Add onion and celery to the frying pan and saute until softened, about 3 minutes (I removed the chicken fat from the frying pan before doing this, but I think you're not supposed to do that). Add tomatoes, garlic, rosemary, and wine and bring to boil, stirring often. Season with salt and pepper. Pour tomato sauce over the chicken, and cook covered over medium-low heat until chicken is cooked, about 40 minutes. Add shrimp about 5 minutes before the chicken is finished.

10 minutes before chicken is finished, heat the remaining olive oil and butter in a frying pan, and lightly fry the bread triangles, until they are crisp and golden on each side. Serve chicken with the bread triangles and parsley as garnish.


5/10: Fit for an emperor, perhaps, but I thought this dish was kind of bland. I suppose it is northern food, at least in Italy... I had this with a nice salad and the rest of the white wine. Maybe I was doing something wrong, and I'll do better next time.