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Chicken Marengo

Serves four.
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Course: Main Course
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • . 30g butter.
  • . Salt and pepper.
  • . Plain flour for dusting chicken
  • . 600g chicken thigh fillets trimmed, quartered or 750g skin-on, bone in chicken thighs.
  • . 1 medium size brown onion peeled and thinly sliced.
  • . 2 cloves garlic - peeled and minced.
  • . 200g sliced mushrooms.
  • . 1 cup chicken stock.
  • . 1 tbsp tomato paste.
  • . 80ml 1/3 cup white wine.
  • . 500g ripe tomatoes skin removed, deseeded and chopped in 1cm pieces.
  • . 2 tsp dried oregano leaves.
  • . 30ml Brandy.
  • . 8 medium green prawns peeled, deveined.
  • . 1/4 cup chopped fresh continental parsley.
  • . Zest from half an orange.

Method
 

  1. Turn your slow cooker on to the high setting. On your stove top pre-heat your frypan. Add butter to frypan.
  2. Season the chicken thighs and coat them in flour. Pat off excess. Butter should be sizzling. Adjust heat down to avoid butter burning.
  3. If you are using whole thighs place them in the frypan skin side down. For thigh fillets it is less important.
  4. Cook the chicken for 2-3 minutes until it is golden brown before turning and repeating on the other side. After this place the chicken in the slow cooker.
  5. Add the onion and garlic to the pan. Gently sauté to golden brown. Add mushrooms and continue cooking for 1-2 minutes. Add onion mix to slow cooker.
  6. Deglaze the pan with a little of the chicken stock and put that liquid in the slow cooker as well. Place the frypan to the side for future use.
  7. Now add the tomato paste, white wine, tomatoes and oregano to the slow cooker. Give the chicken a little mix. Lid the slow cooker. After 30 minutes it should be time to turn the slow cooker down to low. Continue cooking for another 30 minutes.
  8. Meanwhile, lightly blanch the orange zest for about 30 seconds. Boiling water out of the jug should suffice. Refresh the zest in cold water and then drain. Keep aside.
  9. When you think the chicken is ready, check the seasoning and turn to “keep warm”. Add orange zest.
  10. Heat your frypan again with a little olive oil and sauté the prawns until just ready.
  11. Finally add most of the chopped parsley and brandy to the chicken. Stir it in.
  12. To serve. If you are using whole thighs, place those on your serving plate first and then ladle the sauce over. Top with the cooked prawns and a sprinkle with parsley. If you are using thigh fillet ladle out even portions. And finish as before.

Notes

This dish works best with minimum liquid so keep the lid on the slow cooker as much as possible. If you feel it is too dry ad a little more chicken stock.
The amount of flour retained on the surface of the chicken will dictate the thickness of the final dish.
Black olives have also featured in the Marengo recipe, but it is debatable if they were part of an original recipe.
If you use the egg option, it is served sunny side up, on top of this dish.
If you were tempted to create a one pot meal (using thigh fillets) you could add pasta to the last 10 or so minutes of cooking time. You would definitely need to add some more stock, adjust the seasoning and of course the bread would be optional. Alternatively, you could serve it with crusty bread.