Do you have a favorite recipe? It would be difficult for me to come up with just one favorite recipe but I could probably come up with a “top-10 list” of favorite recipes. And, that’s just what Ann, one of my co-workers, did for a staff cookbook we recently assembled.
Here is Ann in her office.
The Chicken Marbella recipe she shared with us came from the Silver Palate cookbook that is now out of print. (This cookbook is on my top-10 list of favorite cookbooks.) Since this recipe came so highly recommend by Ann, I decided to make it for a dinner reunion with former co-workers.
A 25th anniversary edition of the book was published in 2007, and the recipe for Chicken Marbella is in it. It was the first main-course dish to be offered at The Silver Palate shop (in New York City), and the distinctive colors and flavors of the prunes, olives, and capers, kept it a favorite for years. The shop was sold in 1988.
Chicken Marbella
Submitted By: Ann S.
About this recipe, Ann states, "This is a spectacular party dish. Every time I prepare this recipe it receives “rave” reviews. This recipe is from the Silver Palate cookbook by Julee Rosso and Sheila Lukins (pulished in 1982) and it is on my “Top Ten” list of finest recipes ever published".
4 chickens, 2 ½ pounds each, quartered
1 head of garlic, peeled and finely pureed
¼ cup dried oregano
Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
½ cup red wine vinegar
½ cup olive oil
1 cup pitted prunes
½ cup pitted Spanish green olives
½ cup capers with a bit of juice
6 bay leaves
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup white wine
¼ cup Italian parsley or fresh cilantro, finely chopped
1. In a large bowl combine chicken quarters, garlic, oregano, pepper and coarse salt to taste, vinegar, olive oil, prunes, olives, capers and juice, and bay leaves. Cover and let marinate, refrigerated, overnight.
2. Heat oven to 350°F.
3. Arrange chicken in a single layer in one or two large, shallow baking pans and spoon marinade over it evenly. Sprinkle chicken pieces with brown sugar and pour white wine around them.
4. Bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour, basting frequently with pan juices. Chicken is done when thigh pieces, pricked with a fork at their thickest, yield clear yellow (rather than pink) juice.
5. With a slotted spoon transfer chicken, prunes, olives and capers to a serving platter. Moisten with a few spoonfuls of pan juices and sprinkle generously with parsley or cilantro. Pass remaining pan juices in a sauceboat.
6. To serve Chicken Marbella cold, cool to room temperature in cooking juices before transferring to a serving platter. If chicken has been covered and refrigerated, allow it to return to room temperature before serving. Spoon some of the reserved juice over chicken.
Serves 10 to 12