Tapeworm's Dish of the Day for Bulkers

[Tapeworm]

Chicken Marbella

Marinate chicken pieces (I used 2lbs of thighs although the recipie calls for 1/4ed birds) in:

Olive oil - 1/4 cup
Red wine vinegar - 1/4 cup
Green olives - 1/4 cup
Capers - 1/4 cup
Prunes - 1/2 cup
Oregano (dried) - 1/4 cup
Bay leaves (remove after cooking, don't eat them) - 3
Garlic (pureed or finely grated) - 1/2 head or 6 big cloves
Salt & Pepper

Throw the above into a big ziplock bag and combine, then add the chicken pieces and mix around.  Marinate in the fridge for 24 hours.

Cook at 350F (175C) on a shallow baking tray.  Put the chicken on the tray skin side up and sprinkle with 1/2 cup of brown sugar.  Add 1/2 cup of dry white wine into the tray.  Roast until done, basting if you can be bothered.  Mine took about 1 hour.  Damn good.

[QuakerOats]

sounds great except for the brown sugar, hate that shit.

[Tapeworm]

Plain sugar would probably work fine, or maybe try some honey for more depth of flavor.  It definitely needs a sweetener of some sort on the skin to make it all happen tho.

[JasonH]

Not bad Tapeworm - we need more recipes on Getbig.

[Tapeworm]

Not bad Tapeworm - we need more recipes on Getbig.

Cheers J.  I'm determined to take my cooking to the next level!    I'll post the winners.

Btw, there's no need to measure out the above ingredients exactly.  It's just a marinaide, so you could pretty much eyeball it and it'll be good enough.  Very quick and easy to assemble if you have the ingredients on hand.

[Princess L]

Sounds like a very odd combination Tape.  I'm trying to imagine  the taste.

Similarly, I made this tonight.  Quite good 


6 chicken thighs
salt and pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 large shallots minced (I used a sweet onion)
1 tablespoon fresh thyme, chopped fine
1/4 cup dry red wine
3/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup honey
1 bay leaf
Heat the oven to 350 degrees.
Season chicken with salt and pepper. Heat oil in an oven-safe pan big enough to hold 6 chicken thighs over medium high heat. Sear the chicken to goldeny brown on all sides for 3-5 minutes per side. Pull the chicken out of the searing pan, leaving the bits inside.
Add the shallots and thyme to the pot. Scrape up and stir up and cook for 5-7 minutes over medium heat until soft and golden.
Pour the wine into the pan (make sure you pour a glass for yourself). Cook over medium heat until the mixture is mostly dry.
Add vinegar, broth, honey, and bay leaf to the pot. Stir and stir and stir. Add the browned chicken to pot, and over medium high heat, bring the juices to a simmer.
Cover and put the pot in the oven for 30 minutes Turn the chicken once so that it’s cooked through.
When that beautiful brown has been reached, take the pot out of the oven. Take the chicken out of the pot and put it on a plate.
Take the bay leaf out of the pot and toss it. Put the pot back on medium high heat burner to reduce the juices by a little more than half or until it looks syrupy. Lower heat to medium low. Put the chicken back in the braising pan and spoon that glorious sauce over the chicken. Salt and pepper to taste.

[Tapeworm]

Looks good PL.  Some classic French there.  I'm embarrassed to admit that I don't have a cast iron casserole dish that I could go from oven to stovetop with tho and my pots & pans are el-cheapos that can't go in the oven!  It always means double the washing up, ugh!  Been meaning to get to the kitchen shop...


In the Marbella the olives, capers, and salt seemed to do a good job of salinating the chicken and keeping it moist and tender.  I suspect the vinegar plays a role there too, and the oil of course.

Like the olive oil balances the vinegar, the sweetness of the sugar and prunes gives a nice contrast to the oregano, olives, and capers (a classic mediterranean combo).  I've heard some people add apricots as well as prunes.  I guess that's the Moroccan influence since Marbella is on Spain's southern coast, although I'm not entirely certain that this is an authentic Spanish dish.  It may have been invented by Julee Rosso and Sheila Lukins in the 70s in New York for their catering company, and became sort of their signature dish and the first main they offered for sale in their shop in Manhattan.

I found it pleasantly sweet but those who normally eat a sugar free diet might want to reduce the brown sugar a little bit so it doesn't seem too candied.  It was very tasty but maybe a touch rich (as if that's a complaint), and two thighs (without a side dish) were enough for me.  I'll probably use quartered chickens next time (instead of just dark meat) and trim the excess fat a little bit so it's not so schmaltzy before bagging it up.

Here's a link to the recipe (I did it with 2 lbs rather than the 4.5lbs of chicken) found in The Silver Palate Cookbook by Rosso & Lukins (highly recommended!):

http://www.recipelinks.com/cookbooks/2000/0894802046_2.html