CRAWFISH AU GRATIN RECIPES

In the middle of June 1800, Napoleon Bonaparte's troops were engaged in battle with Austrian forces near the small village of Marengo in northern Italy. The battle was fierce, or so the legend has it, and Napoleon, of course, emerged victorious. And hungry. He asked his chef to prepare a meal quickly and the cook scoured the countryside looking for foods to prepare. He scurried around and discovered a chicken, olive oil, tomatoes, herbs, eggs and crawfish. Within minutes, a fire was started and the chef prepared a quick sauté of the chicken with tomatoes, oil and herbs. It is said that he garnished the dish before serving it with a fried egg and crawfish. In my version, the chicken, cut into serving pieces, is simply browned in a little olive oil (I add a touch of butter to give it flavor) on both sides. I then prefer to add sliced mushrooms (there are those who declare that truffles were among the original ingredients), seasonings, wine, tomatoes and parsley and cook covered until done, about 10 minutes longer.

Provided by Pierre Franey

Total Time 30 minutes

Yield 4 servings

Number Of Ingredients 15

• Ingredients

Nutrition Facts : @context http//schema.org, Calories 703, UnsaturatedFatContent 30 grams, CarbohydrateContent 15 grams, FatContent 48 grams, FiberContent 5 grams, ProteinContent 48 grams, SaturatedFatContent 15 grams, SodiumContent 1465 milligrams, SugarContent 8 grams, TransFatContent 0 grams

In the middle of June 1800, Napoleon Bonaparte's troops were engaged in battle with Austrian forces near the small village of Marengo in northern Italy. The battle was fierce, or so the legend has it, and Napoleon, of course, emerged victorious. And hungry. He asked his chef to prepare a meal quickly and the cook scoured the countryside looking for foods to prepare. He scurried around and discovered a chicken, olive oil, tomatoes, herbs, eggs and crawfish. Within minutes, a fire was started and the chef prepared a quick sauté of the chicken with tomatoes, oil and herbs. It is said that he garnished the dish before serving it with a fried egg and crawfish. In my version, the chicken, cut into serving pieces, is simply browned in a little olive oil (I add a touch of butter to give it flavor) on both sides. I then prefer to add sliced mushrooms (there are those who declare that truffles were among the original ingredients), seasonings, wine, tomatoes and parsley and cook covered until done, about 10 minutes longer.

Provided by Pierre Franey

Total Time 30 minutes

Yield 4 servings

Number Of Ingredients 15

• Ingredients

Nutrition Facts : @context http//schema.org, Calories 703, UnsaturatedFatContent 30 grams, CarbohydrateContent 15 grams, FatContent 48 grams, FiberContent 5 grams, ProteinContent 48 grams, SaturatedFatContent 15 grams, SodiumContent 1465 milligrams, SugarContent 8 grams, TransFatContent 0 grams