The Chicken alla Stradellina or pulàstar da Stradela in Pavese dialect or chicken from Stradella is a very tasty and little-known recipe. It is said that it was first cooked by Napoleon Bonaparte’s chef during his Italian Campaign in the Pavese territory, specifically in Montebello della Battaglia. This recipe was given to him by a farmer from Stradella, a Pavese town. The recipe is believed to have been later modified and named “Chicken alla Marengo” in honor of the town of Marengo, the site of a battle victory by Napoleon, as reported in the book “La scienza in cucina e l’arte di mangiar bene” by Pellegrino Artusi, p. 160, Ed. Giunti. This recipe is taken from the book “Intorno alla cucina pavese ovvero Pavia, contorni e dintorni” curated by Luigia Favalli, Ed. Unitre Pavia, 1998. Try the other recipes with chicken.

Difficulty: Easy
Cost: Medium
Preparation time: 15 Minutes
Portions: 3 people
Cooking methods: Stove, Oven
Cuisine: Regional Italian
Region: Lombardy
Seasonality: Autumn, Winter, and Spring

Ingredients

6 chicken wings
3 chicken legs
3 chicken thighs, with skin, raw
3 teaspoons black truffle cream (or black truffle shavings)
1 glass dry white wine
1/2 white onion
as needed all-purpose flour
as needed rosemary
as needed thyme
as needed sage
as needed nutmeg
as needed extra virgin olive oil (or butter)
as needed fine salt
as needed black pepper

Tools

Bowl
Knife
Cutting board
Pan
Paper towels
Lid
Fork
Strainer
Wooden spoon

Steps

To prepare Chicken alla Stradellina….

Peel and chop half an onion then sauté it over medium heat in a pan with the extra virgin olive oil.
Then take the chicken legs, thighs, and wings, remove any feather residues by passing them directly over the flame, and clean them by wiping them with paper towels.
Put the various chicken parts in a bowl and season them with rosemary, thyme, sage, and nutmeg.
Place the chicken in the pan with the sautéed onion and brown it by increasing the flame, turning the various pieces occasionally on each side.
Add salt, pepper, and when they are golden, deglaze the chicken with dry white wine, then let it evaporate.
Once the wine has evaporated, cover with a lid and continue cooking over medium heat, always turning the various parts of the chicken from time to time.
When the chicken is cooked, uncover, let any water that has formed evaporate, and add the truffle cream or, even better, some black truffle shavings, and let it season.
Finally, when the chicken is cooked, transfer it to a serving dish or baking dish.
In the pan with the cooking juices, add the flour by sifting it with a fine-mesh strainer and mixing it with a wooden spoon, allowing it to thicken slightly over low heat, forming a sauce. If it seems too dry, you can add a little more white wine or water.
Pour the thickened cooking sauce over the chicken and serve the dish very hot.

Notes

The original recipe involves the use of black truffle; in this case, due to availability and/or seasonality, I opted for a truffle sauce. Additionally, I did not add the gelatin dissolved with wine to thicken the final sauce.