Food - Drink
Chicken Marengo Was Reportedly Improvised On A Raging Battlefield
By JESSIE MOLLOY
In 1800, Napoleon Bonaparte led the French army into Italy, where he defeated the Austrians in the battle of Marengo. Allegedly, this led to the origin of the dish Chicken Marengo.
According to legend, Napoleon's chef scrambled to put together a celebratory dinner, but was short on ingredients because the supply wagons got separated in the battle.
Napoleon sent men into town to scavenge for ingredients while he foraged nearby fields for herbs. The men found some chickens, eggs, tomatoes, garlic, a jug of oil, and some bread.
The chef also used his personal flask of brandy and improvised a recipe from the pilfered ingredients. The resulting dish, Chicken Marengo, was named for the famous battle.
While this story certainly is fun, historians have debunked it a few times. What we do know is that the supposedly "scavenged" ingredients are still used in the dish today.
While this story certainly is fun, historians have debunked it a few times. What we do know is that the supposedly "scavenged" ingredients are still used in the dish today.