Sunday, February 21, 2010

Chicken for a Crowd

Chicken Marbella
(adapted from The Silver Palate cookbook)
serves 8-10 people










Chicken Marbella is one of those legendary recipes that you always seem to come across...I think it was very popular in the 90's for entertaining as it serves a large crowd and can be prepared the day before. I first had this dish at a high school graduation party.
While it wasn't as fabulous as I remembered, it was still very good! However, next time I make it, I would adjust a few things...
1. cut down on the amount of oregano
2. Use a mix of green and black olives and double the quantity
3. Double the quantity of prunes

I served this with steamed broccoli, and Israeli couscous that I made with half water, and half chicken stock. I then add sauteed shallots and garlic, fresh parsley, lemon juice, salt, pepper and Herbamare seasoning. Delicious!!









See below for the original recipe-

Ingredients:

5 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, halved
1 bulb garlic, finely puréed
1/4 cup dried oregano
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 cups pitted dried plums
1/2 cup pitted green olives, or a mix of olives such as Greek, Moroccan, or French
1/2 cup capers with about a tablespoon of their juice
6 bay leaves
1/2 cup brown sugar (I cut this back from 1 cup)
1 cup white wine
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh Italian parsley

Method:
1. Place the chicken in a large bowl. Cover it with the garlic, oregano, coarse salt and pepper, vinegar, olive oil, dried plums, olives, capers and juice, and bay leaves. Rub the chicken well with the marinade and refrigerate, covered, ideally overnight, but at least for 2 hours.

2. Preheat the oven to 350°F.

3. Arrange the chicken in a single layer in 1 or 2 large, shallow baking pans and spoon the marinade over it evenly. Sprinkle the chicken pieces with brown sugar and pour white wine around but not on them.

4. Bake for about 40-45 minutes, basting every 10 minutes with the pan juices.

5. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the chicken, dried plums, olives, and capers to a serving platter. Moisten with a few spoonfuls of pan juices and sprinkle generously with the parsley. Serve the remaining pan juices in a separate bowl.

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