Chicken in egg sauce: the recipe by Pellegrino Artusi, father of Italian gastronomy

Chicken in egg sauce is a recipe taken from "Science in the kitchen and the art of eating well" by Pellegrino Artusi, Italian writer and literary critic, considered the "father" of Italian gastronomy. Chicken in egg sauce is a simple and very tasty main course that can be quickly made in a pan or in a casserole dish, depending on the chicken parts used. Our recipe version that you find below is a modern variant that uses only the chicken breast and mixes the egg yolk in the cooking sauce of the pan with the heat off, for a fluid and creamy sauce, with an elegant and refined presentation.

How to prepare chicken in egg sauce

Cut the whole chicken breast in half to obtain two fillets. Then slice each fillet into 1-2 cm thick slices (1).

Sprinkle the chicken slices with the flour on both sides (2). Remove excess dust and set aside.

Melt the butter in a non-stick pan (3).

Add the chicken slices and brown them on both sides. Add salt and pepper (4), then remove the meat and keep it warm.

In a clean bowl, beat the egg yolks with the juice of half a lemon until they become foamy (5).

Pour them into the hot pan – but away from the heat – with the chicken cooking sauce and stir until thickened (6).

Pour the creamy sauce over the chicken, add a bit of pepper, a few leaves of rosemary and serve (7).

Tips

In the original recipe the chef uses different parts of the chicken: for simplicity we have used just the breast, in order to obtain an uniform cooking.

You can also add other aromatic herbs to the recipe, such as thyme, or spices, if you love them.

Story

This recipe is contained in "Science In The Kitchen And The Art Of Eating Well", a book that is also simply called “Artusi”. It is a cooking manual written by Pellegrino Artusi in 1891, which still represents a masterpiece of Italian gastronomy and the art of serving at the table; it has been also translated into many languages. Pellegrino Artusi is a very important person in the Italian cuisine story; every year in the birthplace of the gourmet master, that is Forlimpopoli, there is a great celebatrion with various types of events and celebrations.

Preservation

We suggest you to immediately eat this tasty dish to taste all its aromas and flavors and to prevent the meat from losing its compactness.