Chicken Marbella

Chicken Marbella is an iconic chicken dish from The Silver Palate Cookbook by Sheila Lukins and Julee Rosso, first published in 1982. The book is famous for many innovative dinner party recipes with this dish a stand-out from that era. The dish fell out of favour but in recent times is making something of a comeback which is no surprise as it is not only super-easy to make, it is delicious. The dish has a careful balance of sweetness (from the sugar and prunes) with the acidity of the vinegar and saltiness of the olives and capers which when served with either rice, pasta or even mashed potatoes to soak up the sauce is so delicious. Nothing could be simpler to prepare, and a long marinate overnight (you can even get away with marinating in the morning and cooking that night but if you can leave it longer, do) all that is then left is to pop it in the oven to bake.

½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
½ cup red wine vinegar
1 cup large prunes, pitted
½ cup large green olives, pitted, such as Cerignola
½ cup capers, including the juices (3½ oz)
6 bay leaves
1½ heads garlic, cloves separated, peeled and minced
¼ cup dried oregano
sea salt
black pepper, freshly ground
4 (2½ lb) chickens, backs removed and quartered
1 cup brown sugar, lightly packed
1 cup dry white wine, such as Pinot Grigio
¼ cup fresh Italian parsley or fresh cilantro, finely chopped

Combine the olive oil, vinegar, prunes, olives, capers and juice, bay leaves, garlic, oregano, and salt and pepper in a large bowl. Add the chicken and stir to coat. Cover the bowl and refrigerate overnight.

Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C/160°C fan, Gas Mark 4).

Arrange the chicken in a single layer in one or two large, shallow baking pans and spoon the marinade over it evenly. Sprinkle the chicken pieces with the brown sugar and pour the white wine around them.

Bake, basting frequently with the pan juices, until the thigh pieces yield clear yellow (rather than pink) juice when pricked with a fork, 50-60 minutes.

With a slotted spoon, transfer the chicken, prunes, olives, and capers to a serving platter. Moisten with a few spoonfuls of the pan juices and sprinkle generously with the parsley or cilantro.

Pass the remaining pan juices in a sauceboat.

Makes 10 servings.

Cook's Notes: To serve Chicken Marbella cold, cool to room temperature in the cooking juices before transferring the pieces to a serving platter. If the chicken has been covered and refrigerated, reheat it in the juices, then allow it to come to room temperature before serving. Spoon some of the reserved juice over the chicken.