Chicken Marengo

Preparation:

Preparation: Cut the chicken into eight pieces, flour them and brown them in a saucepan with olive oil and butter and a clove of garlic; add salt and pepper and sprinkle with nutmeg. When they have taken on a nice golden colour, wet them with dry white wine and let it evaporate. Now add a glass of broth, cover and cook over a sustained but not violent flame until completely cooked. Arrange the chicken pieces on a serving plate and sprinkle them with a sauce obtained by mixing the cooking juices with the juice of half a lemon. Serve hot, garnished with oven-baked new potatoes. It is said that this dish was served on the evening of the battle of Marengo to General Bonaparte, who later emerged victorious. It is said that the provisions of the French troops were exhausted: but a chicken can also be stolen in war. It is still said that it was fried in oil and sprinkled with Madeira. I have consulted the sacred texts of post-Napoleonic Piedmontese cuisine which are those of Chapusot (1846) and Vialardi (1854), but I have found no trace of Madeira. The Chapusot, then, also puts tomaticas, or tomatoes, in this sauté, similar to chicken cacciatore. Recommended wine: Barbera d'Alba.