Chicken Marbella
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Serves: 10-12 serves
 
The chicken served with the wholewheat cous cous


YOU NEED TO START THIS RECIPE THE DAY BEFORE … making this a fabulous entertaining dish when you are short of time and need to feed a crowd (perfect for the festive season!)

Equally though it is a great dish for a small group, as the cooked chicken keeps well in the fridge for a couple of days, and it also freezes well when left in the juice.

I serve this with a Savoury Cous Cous. but it is also yummy served with mashed or baked potatoes for a heartier meal.

The original recipe is from the Silver Palate Cookbook released in 1979 … so this is definitely an “oldie but a goodie”.

NOTES ABOUT COOKING THE CHICKEN ...

I prefer to use chicken breasts that have the tenderloin removed as they cook within 30 minutes. If your chicken breast has the tenderloin on it, remove it and freeze for another meal. With the amount of chicken you are using you will find there will be plenty of tenderloin put aside.

As you need to take the chicken out of the fridge 30 minutes before cooking, and it cooks for 30 minutes and can rest for up to an hour, you will need to think about when you plan to serve the chicken, and then work backwards to decide when to take it out of the fridge. For example, if you are serving it at 7pm then you will need to take it out of the fridge at 5pm (30 minutes out of the fridge + 30 minutes cooking time + 1 hour resting time = 2 hours beforehand it needs to come out of the fridge).

If you have more chicken than you need, freeze some to steam in the Veroma later for a quick mid week family meal.
Ingredients
  • 3kg chicken breasts
  • 2 tsp minced garlic
  • ¼ cup dried oregano
  • 1 tsp sea salt flakes
  • ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
  • ½ cup red wine vinegar
  • ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 cup pitted prunes
  • ½ cup capers with a bit of juice
  • 6 fresh bay leaves
  • 1 cup light muscovado sugar / or brown sugar
  • 1 cup white wine (I use a dry wine)
  • ½ cup freshly chopped Italian parsley or fresh coriander
Instructions
  1. DAY BEFORE: in a large bowl combine the garlic, oregano, salt and pepper, red wine vinegar, olive oil, prunes, capers and bay leaves
  2. Add chicken and mix thoroughly … cover and refrigerate overnight
  3. Thirty minutes prior to cooking remove chicken from fridge
  4. Arrange in a single layer in a large baking dish and pour marinade over
  5. Sprinkle with the sugar and wine
  6. Preheat oven to 180 degrees, fan forced
  7. Bake for 30 minutes, test a single piece of chicken breast (if there is a lot of pink in the middle cook for another 5 minutes)
  8. Remove baking dish from oven, cover with alfoil, then a tea towel on top of the alfoil, and let the chicken rest for at least 30 minutes and up to an hour (if you wish to serve it hot leave it no longer than an hour, otherwise it can sit for an hour and a half and still be quite warm)
  9. Remove chicken and slice into thick pieces, put onto individual serving plates with some of the capers and prunes and pour sauce over (or you can slice chicken and put onto a large serving platter, topped with the capers, prune and sauce)
  10. Sprinkle with herbs and serve
Notes
Adapted from recipe in the Silver Palate Cookbook 1979 issue
Recipe by The Passionate Pantry at https://www.thepassionatepantry.com.au/chicken-marbella/