Chicken Marengo

A classic one pot chicken dish with juicy chicken legs, tomatoes, porcini mushrooms and optional Brussels sprouts from French cuisine. Traditionally it's garnished with a fried egg and crawfish. I happened to have some hard-boiled eggs left, so I just used it as the garnish. Leave out the Brussels sprouts or use more mushrooms instead if you prefer. Perfect for a warming, moreish family meal.
Chicken Marengo was one of Napoleon's favorites and is named after the Battle of Marengo on June 14, 1800, in which Napoleon turned a near defeat into a victory and thus secured his control of Italy.

4 Chicken legs, skin-on, bone-in
2 tsp Salt
15 g Dried porcini
300 ml Hot chicken broth
2 tbsp Chicken schmaltz
35 g Anchovies, chopped
250 g Brussels sprouts, halved (or mushrooms, sliced)
2 Garlic cloves, chopped
2-3 Thyme sprigs
1 Bay leaf
400 g Tomatoes, diced
15-20 Black olives
1-2 tbsp Parsley, chopped
2 Hard-boiled eggs, chopped

Season the chicken all over with salt. Soak porcini in hot chicken broth and set aside.
Heat the chicken schmaltz in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Once hot, add the chicken legs, skin sides down. Cook until golden brown, about 5-7 minutes, then flip and cook until browned, about 3 minutes more. Transfer the chicken to an oven safe dish.
Lower the heat to medium. Add the chopped anchovies and sprouts to the fat and cook, stirring, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, thyme sprigs, and bay leaf and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 2 minutes more. Meanwhile preheat the oven to 180C/350F.
Now pour in chicken broth together with the porcini, chopped tomatoes and black olives. Bring to a boil over high heat. Pour the sauce over the chicken and bake in the middle of the hot oven for 30 minutes until chicken legs are golden brown and cooked through.
Garnish with chopped parsley and hard-boiled eggs. Enjoy it with some homemade bread or pasta.

15 comments:

Benita James 10/3/25 12:04: This is indeed a classic recipe, looks so juicy and tasty. Happy new week Angie.
DEZMOND 10/3/25 13:05: Tomatoes in the background drew my attention, they are so expensive here these days, like you can buy three kg of bananas for a kg of tomatoes.
Lucimar da Silva Moreira 10/3/25 13:20: Angies o frango está bem apetitoso, desejo uma ótima semana pra você bjs.
Carol @Comfort Spring Station 10/3/25 13:37: What a wonderful combination of textures and flavors. Looks wonderful!
Lola Martínez 10/3/25 14:54: Muy buena receta, es una comida completa en un solo plato. Una combinación exquisita.
Tom 10/3/25 14:56: ...another fabulous way to enjoy chicken!
David M. Gascoigne, 10/3/25 14:59: Looks really wonderful. We’ll give this a try for sure.
eileeninmd 10/3/25 16:04: Looks like a yummy chicken recipe! Take care, enjoy your day and have a great week ahead.
Christine 10/3/25 16:05: Yummy
foodtravelandwine 10/3/25 16:30: It looks fantastic!!....a classic to another level!!......Abrazotes, Marcela
speedy70 10/3/25 17:09: Ottimo pollo con i cavoletti, li adoro!
sotis 10/3/25 17:30: j'adooore!!! bisous
Frank 10/3/25 17:38: Quite a different take on the dish than I've encountered before but it sounds very tasty indeed. Love the addition of anchovies in particular. Umami bomb!
Lowcarb team member 10/3/25 18:37: Looks lovely Angie and Chicken Legs are good to eat.

All the best Jan
DeniseinVA 10/3/25 18:44: Fantastic! Thank you Angie :)