How long should the chicken simmer in the sauce?

The chicken pieces are first browned in oil, then simmered gently in the Spanish sauce for about 1 hour, or until the chicken is tender. The total time is around 100 minutes.

What is the sauce made of?

The base is ½ liter of Spanish sauce (brown base sauce), thinned with 2 cut-up tomatoes. Then you add 1 deciliter of sherry, 12 mushrooms, 6 pitted olives and 1 truffle cut into strips, plus salt and pepper.

How should the dish be plated?

The chicken is piled high on a warm platter, the sauce is strained over it, and the mushrooms, olives and truffle are arranged around it. Puff pastry cut and baked as crescents or points is placed around the edge.

Where does the recipe come from?

It is taken from Henriette Schønberg Erken's Stor kokebok (Grand Cookbook) of 1914, page 287, and is intended for 4 servings.

Chicken à la Marengo

Name: Chicken à la Marengo
Prep time: 40 min
Cook time: 1 h
Total time: 1 h 40 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Norwegian
Ingredients: 1 pcs chicken (about 1.2–1.5 kg); 1.5 dl salad oil (for frying); 5 dl brown base sauce ("Spanish sauce"/demi-glace); 2 pcs tomatoes (cut into pieces); 1 dl sherry; 12 pcs mushrooms; 6 pcs olives (pitted); 1 pcs truffle (in strips, may be omitted); salt (to taste); pepper (to taste); 200 g puff pastry (for crescents or points)

Chicken à la Marengo from Erken's Stor kokebok (Grand Cookbook) 1914: chicken pieces are browned in oil and simmered tender in a brown base sauce with tomato, sherry, mushrooms, olives and truffle, served with baked puff-pastry shapes.

Source: Henriette Schønberg Erken, Stor kokebok, 1914-utg. s. 287 (falt i det fri)

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About the dish

A classic French chicken dish that Henriette Schønberg Erken includes in the poultry and game chapter of Stor kokebok (1914). The dish shows how French cuisine shaped Norwegian bourgeois party fare, with a brown base sauce ("Spanish sauce"), sherry, mushrooms, olives and truffle, garnished with puff-pastry shapes.

How to make it

1
Prepare the chicken
Clean the chicken in the usual way, dry it well and cut it into neat pieces.
2
Brown the pieces
Fry the chicken pieces nicely brown in the oil. Set them aside to drain and pour off the oil.
3
Make the sauce
Thin the brown base sauce with the cut-up tomatoes and bring it to a boil.
4
Simmer tender
Place the chicken pieces in the boiling sauce. Add the sherry, mushrooms, pitted olives and truffle in strips. Let the dish simmer gently, covered, for about 1 hour, or until the chicken is tender. Season with salt and pepper.
5
Bake the puff pastry
Cut the puff pastry into crescents or points and bake them golden in the oven.
6
Plating
Pile the chicken high on a warm platter, strain the sauce over it and arrange the mushrooms, olives and truffle around it. Place the puff-pastry shapes around the edge.

Changes from the original

Measurements have been converted to modern units (dl, l, g, tsp/tbsp). "Spanish sauce" is described as a brown base sauce/demi-glace. The amounts of salt and pepper are given as "to taste." Truffle is marked as optional.

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Frequently asked questions

How long should the chicken simmer in the sauce?: The chicken pieces are first browned in oil, then simmered gently in the Spanish sauce for about 1 hour, or until the chicken is tender. The total time is around 100 minutes.
What is the sauce made of?: The base is ½ liter of Spanish sauce (brown base sauce), thinned with 2 cut-up tomatoes. Then you add 1 deciliter of sherry, 12 mushrooms, 6 pitted olives and 1 truffle cut into strips, plus salt and pepper.
How should the dish be plated?: The chicken is piled high on a warm platter, the sauce is strained over it, and the mushrooms, olives and truffle are arranged around it. Puff pastry cut and baked as crescents or points is placed around the edge.
Where does the recipe come from?: It is taken from Henriette Schønberg Erken's Stor kokebok (Grand Cookbook) of 1914, page 287, and is intended for 4 servings.

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