Chicken Marbella

This is one of the most well know recipes from The Silver Palate by Julee Rosso and Sheila Lukins. It looks as decadent as it tastes, and the best part is that it is easy to put together. I place everything in one of those ziploc gallon sized bags and let it marinate. It also can be served warm or cold. Great. So I can prepare it ahead of time and even make it ahead of time if needed.

The recipe in the book serves 10. I only needed 1/3 of that for the goldfish and me.
Ingredients:
  • 4 chickens, quartered
  • 1 head of garlic, peeled and pureed
  • 1/2 cup dried oregano
  • salt
  • pepper
  • 1/2 cup red wine vinegar
  • 1/2 cup olive oil
  • 1 cup pitted prunes
  • 1/2 cup pitted Spanish green olives
  • 1/2 cup capers with a bit of juice
  • 6 bay leaves
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 1 cup white wine
  • 1/4 cup Italian parsley or fresh coriander, finely chopped
In a large bowl combine chicken quarters, garlic, oregano, pepper and salt to taste, vinegar, olive oil, prunes, olives, capers, and juice, and bay leaves (basically everything but the sugar and wine). Cover and let marinate, refrigerated overnight.

Preheat oven to 350

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.

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 juice.

With a slotted spoon transfer chicken, prunes, olives, 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 sauce boat.


I was told to serve it with french bread to sop up the au jus but I decided to give my goldfish something heartier and more filling and went with mashed potatoes. He appreciated that. I should also mention that he detests olives but he loved the flavor of the marabella and simply moved the olives aside for me to eat. I guess it's like his loathing of tomatoes, but love of tomato sauces.

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