Kosher Chicken Marbella is one of those recipes that you just don't see very often these days. It was made popular from the Silver Palate Cookbook and taught people that a chicken recipe with prunes and olives could be a big hit! This recipe is both kosher and gluten free! Learn how to make the best Kosher Chicken Marbella recipe from scratch.
Jump to:
- Why This Recipe Works
- Chicken with prunes and olives and capers?
- How to Make Easy Chicken Marbella Step By Step
- Recipe FAQ
- Sides that go well with Chicken Marbella
- More recipes like this one
- Did you enjoy this recipe? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
- 📖 Recipe
- Sides that go well with Chicken Marbella
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Why This Recipe Works
- Super Tasty. I am not kidding when I say that this is one of the tastiest chicken dishes I have ever made. Just like our recipe for Chicken Marsala, this one gets tons of flavor from the cooking wine sauce. The chicken and prunes recipe along with the tangy vinegar and olives, and the nutty roasted garlic hit all of the flavor notes.
- Easy to make. There are a lot of complex flavors in this dish but they all come from simple ingredients. Mix the marinade and let it set in overnight. Bake until an internal temperature of 165ºF and you are done.
- Make it in advance. It can be difficult to prepare for Shabbat and Yom Tov. It's nice to have a standby recipe that can be made in advance and frozen like our Whole Roast Chicken or Smoked Chicken Quarters. After baking, put the chicken (and the yummy sauce) into a 2.5 gallon plastic bag, get all of the air out of it, and seal it tight. Wrap it in plastic wrap to help avoid freezer burn. Thaw overnight in a refrigerator and reheat covered at 300ºF for 20-25 minutes.
Chicken with prunes and olives and capers?
I first made Kosher Chicken Marbella when I was living in Los Angeles. I was staying with my roommate's parents who had just become empty nesters and could not be happier to have a house guest. I didn't have any money so I was unable to pay rent (which they never asked for) so I offered to cook for them. One day, they gave me a recipe for Chicken Marbella and asked if it could be made kosher. I took one look at it and said prune and olive chicken…are you kidding me? They insisted that I try to make it. I did and was blown away by the flavor combination that the dish offers. Everybody needs to try Kosher Chicken Marbella at least once in their lives. Chances are that this could make it into your regular dinner rotation.
How to Make Easy Chicken Marbella Step By Step
Step 1: Prepare the marinade.
Start by mixing the oil and vinegar together with ½ cup pitted prunes. I like to tear each of the prunes in half before throwing them in. This gives them more surface area to be spread out later. Also, this really lets the insides of the prunes get exposed to the liquids to give the marinade more flavor.
Add the capers along with some of the caper brine. The way to do this is fill the measuring cup up with capers and then pour the brine into the cup until it is full. This way you will get exactly the right amount.
Mix in the olives (break these apart like the prunes for the same reason). The original recipe uses pitted Spanish green olives but we used the jarred olives with pimentos. Add the fresh garlic, bay leaves, salt, pepper, and oregano.
Step 2: Marinate Overnight
Put the chicken pieces into a resealable plastic bag that is large enough to hold them and pour the marinade in. Push all of the excess air out of the plastic bag and then seal it tight. Massage the marinade into the chicken pieces and then refrigerate overnight. In a pinch you can marinate for less time but as my oldest daughter says "that is the difference between chicken that is an A+ and chicken that's only an A."
Step 3: Bake the chicken.
Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Pour all of the contents of the bag into a 9x13 baking dish. Pour in the white wine. Sprinkle the brown sugar over chicken and then bake uncovered for 20 minutes.
Baste and bake for another 20 minutes. Baste one final time and put back into the oven for 17 minutes. For the final 3 minutes, turn on the broiler to brown the skin.
Step 4: Prepare the sauce.
Transfer chicken onto a serving platter and pour the pan juices into a saucepan. Heat until boiling and reduce.
Pour the sauce over the chicken. If you are wondering what to serve with Chicken Marbella, serve with your favorite side dish.
Recipe FAQ
Yes you can make Chicken Marbella boneless. The marinade and Marbella sauce should keep the chicken moist but be aware that without the skin the chicken can dry out on top. In our Passover Stuffed Chicken Breast recipe we used a technique of covering with lettuce leaves.
While this dish seems to combine ingredients common in Spanish, French and Mediterranean cuisines, the dish is all American! This dish was served at the Silver Palate and gained popularity through the Silver Palate Cookbook.
Sides that go well with Chicken Marbella
- Cobb Salad
- Creamy Cole Slaw
- Crispy Potato Latkes
- Easy Sweet Potato Medallions
- Sheet Pan Oven Roasted Broccoli
- Authentic Spanish Rice
More recipes like this one
Did you enjoy this recipe? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
📖 Recipe
Kosher Chicken Marbella
Ingredients
- 1 chicken large whole chicken cut into pieces
- ½ cup olive oil
- ¼ cup red wine vinegar
- ½ cup prunes
- ¼ cup capers with caper brine
- ¼ cup green olives
- 3 bay leaves
- 1 tablespoon oregano
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 8 cloves of garlic peeled and mashed
- ½ cup white wine
- ½ cup brown sugar
Instructions
- In a large bowl combine the olive oil, vinegar, prunes, capers, olives, bay leaves, salt ,black pepper, oregano, and garlic cloves together to form the marinade.
- Marinate the chicken pieces in the marinade overnight.
- Preheat oven to 350ºF.
- Place the chicken pieces into a 9x13 baking dish skin side up and spoon marinade over the top of the chicken.
- Pour the white wine into the baking dish and sprinkle the brown sugar over the top of the chicken.
- Bake uncovered for 20 minutes. Baste and bake for 20 minutes. Repeat one more time for a final 20 minutes.
- Remove the chicken from the pan and pour the sauce into a saucepan. Bring to a boil.
- Spoon the sauce over the chicken and serve.
