Chicken Marengo

From the kitchen of Carly

French braise named after a Napoleon battlefield: chicken legs simmered in tomato passata with mushrooms and black olives. One pan, 50 minutes, mostly oven-time. Spoon over pasta or buttered mash and the rest of the kitchen does itself. Use a heavy lid. Thin lids let moisture escape and the chicken turns stringy.

Chicken Marengo
Prep
5 min
Cook
50 min
Total
55 min
Servings
4
Difficulty
easy

Ingredients

4 servings

  • 1 tbspolive oil
  • 300 gcremini or chestnut mushrooms, sliced
  • 4bone-in chicken legs (drumstick + thigh)
  • 500 gtomato passata (or smooth tomato sauce)
  • 1chicken stock cube
  • 100 gkalamata or black olives, pitted
  • 2 tbspfresh parsley, chopped
  • 1 to tastefreshly cracked black pepper

Instructions

  1. Heat the olive oil in a large flameproof casserole or Dutch oven over medium-high heat.

  2. Add the sliced mushrooms. Stir-fry 4 to 5 minutes until they soften and any released water has cooked off.

  3. Pat the chicken legs dry with paper towels. Season with pepper (skip the salt; the stock cube and olives bring plenty).

  4. Push the mushrooms to the sides. Add the chicken legs to the pan, skin-side down. Cook 4 minutes per side, just to color the skin and pick up some fond. Don't worry about cooking through; that happens in the simmer.

  5. Pour in the passata. Crumble in the stock cube. Stir gently to distribute.

  6. Add the olives. Stir once.

  7. Bring the pan to a simmer. Cover with a tight-fitting lid.

  8. Cook on low heat 40 minutes, until the chicken is tender at the bone and the sauce has reduced slightly. Stir once or twice to make sure the bottom doesn't catch.

  9. Taste and adjust pepper.

  10. Scatter the chopped parsley over the top. Serve straight from the pan with pasta, mashed potatoes, or crusty bread for the sauce.

Substitutions
  • chicken legs to bone-in thighs or a whole cut-up chicken. Thighs alone work fine; whole chicken pieces add wings and breasts but need shorter braise time (25 minutes for breasts).
  • passata to 1 large can (28 oz) crushed tomatoes. Crushed tomatoes are chunkier; passata is smoother. Either works; both are pantry staples in the US.
  • black olives to kalamata olives, capers, or 2 chopped anchovies. All bring brininess. Anchovies dissolve into the sauce and most people don't taste them; they just taste richness.

Pairs well with: Wide pappardelle or buttered mashed potatoes, A glass of pinot noir, beaujolais, or a southern French rose, Crusty baguette for the sauce

Adapted from TheMealDB.