Chicken Marbella

One of my co-worker made this dish once and brought it to work. I loved it so much I asked her for the recipe and made it for a dinner party a few weeks ago. It is super easy to make and it's suppose to taste better as leftover. Unfortunately my friends enjoyed it so much, we didn't have any left overs. :)



This dish is good hot or at room temperature. If you want to serve it as hors d'oeuvre then use small drumsticks and wings instead. This is the recipe for 10 - 12 servings. I adjusted the recipe and used less chicken since I was only serving for 6.

4 chickens, 2/1/2 pounds each, quartered
1 head of garlic, peeled and finely pureed
1/2 cup dried Oregano
coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
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 (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. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

3. Arrange chicken in a single layer in one or two large, shallow baking pans, 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 serving platter. Moisten with a few spoonfuls of pan juices and sprinkle generously with parslety or cilantro.

6. To serve Chicken Marbella cold, cool to room temperature in cooking juices before transferring to a serving platter.

I served this dish with sides of Collard greens and brown rice.

~ Mina