By Chef Joseph Massaglia
I was born and raised in Brozolo, Italy, a commune – or what we in America would call a township – in the capital city of Turin in the Piedmont region. One of 20 regions in Italy, Piedmont is the second largest region in Italy (behind Sicily), is in Italy’s northwest, and borders Switzerland and France. True to the meaning of its name (foot of the mountain), Piedmont is a land of mountains. It is surrounded on three sides by the Alps, with the highest peaks and largest glaciers in Italy.
Every region of Italy is defined by its climate, geography and distance to (or from) the sea. Because of its location in the north of Italy and the abundance of mountains and valleys, the cuisine of the Piedmont region is vastly different that the middle and southern regions of the country.
The climate and rocky relief makes Piedmont a world-class wine destination – famous wines like Barolo, Barbaresco, Barbera d’Asti and Cortese di Gavi are all grown in the foothills around Turin – as well as home to some of the greatest truffles available in the world.
Rice paddies filled with Arborio and Carnaroli rice abound in the Piedmont, and this region is responsible for the growth of almost half of Italy’s risotto rice.
Nutella, which is actually called gianduia (or gianduja), was invented in Turin around the turn of the nineteenth century. According to various websites, in 1806, Napoleon imposed a ban on British goods entering French-occupied harbours, putting a strain on cocoa supplies. One smart chocolatier – Michele Prochet – managed to stretch his chocolate supplies by mixing it with hazelnut paste – and thus, gianduia was born and the rest is history.
And speaking of Napoleon, although our most famous Piedmont recipes rely on beef and red wine (Brasata al Barolo), many, many variations of risotto and several varieties of gnocchi with cheese sauce (Gnocchi Alla Bava), Napoleon – actually his chef – is credited with inventing Chicken Marengo.
(By the way, Gnocchi Alla Bava is one of my most favorite dishes and it’s been on my menu at Mama Mia’s for over 30 years.)
According to Wikipedia, there is a popular myth that the dish was first made after Napoleon defeated the Austrian army at the Battle of Marengo at Marengo, (south of Alessandria, Italy), when his chef Dunand foraged in the town for ingredients because the supply wagons were too distant, and he created the dish from what he could find.
According to this legend, Napoleon enjoyed the dish so much he had it served to him after every battle, and when Dunand was later better-supplied and substituted mushrooms for crayfish and added wine to the recipe, Napoleon refused to accept it, believing that a change would bring him bad luck.
This colorful story, however, is probably myth because there would have been no access to tomatoes at that time, and the first published recipe for the dish omits them. The more realistic explanation for the origin of the dish is that it was created by a restaurant chef to honor Napoleon’s victory.
Since none of us were there at that time, we’ll never know! But I can tell you that Chicken Marengo, one of over 600 recipes on my website www.joestablefortwo is delicious. The old, original recipe on my site is true to tradition, very simple and garnished with bread, eggs and shrimp instead of crayfish.
However, there are many, many variations when you search for the recipe on the internet. Some recipes substitute chicken breasts for a whole chicken, which I don’t think would give the dish a rich flavor. If you don’t want to cut up a chicken, I suggest substituting bone-in chicken thighs for the whole chicken pieces.
Other recipes include mushrooms, red bell peppers, onions and thyme. I’m not one to add bell peppers, but I do like the flavorful addition of mushrooms (which is said to be in the very first recipe), onions and thyme.
I’ve included the traditional Chicken Marengo recipe from my website with this article. It comes from a well-known Italian Cookbook by Ada Boni called Italian Regional Cooking. It’s out of print now, but you may be able to find a used copy online. And if you’d like to enhance this recipe with some of the ingredients mentioned above, check out Pierre Franey’s Chicken Marengo recipe on the New York Times recipe website.
I have many traditional Italian regional recipes on my menu at Mama Mia’s in Marmora. Stop by and have lunch or dinner in our tented outdoor trattoria section, or by reservation for limited indoor seating. You also can continue to call ahead and order for pickup or delivery. We would love to see you.
Buon Appetito!
Mama Mia’s Restaurante is open 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. for Outdoor and Indoor Dining, Take-Out, Curbside No-Hands Pick-Up, and Delivery to Marmora, Ocean City, Beesley’s Point, Petersburg, Seaville and more! Mama’s Take Home Pizza Kits also available; please call to reserve yours. The One and Only Original Mama Mia’s Restaurante in the Marmora Shopping Center. 609-624-9322 www.mamamiasnj.com
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* 10% off your wine purchase at Joe Canal’s Discount Liquor Stores – Egg Harbor Township – when you mention Joe’s Table for Two.
