Chicken Marbella

Ingredients

• 1.4 whole chickens, 2½ lbs each (approx. 4 x 750g); quartered
• 2.coarse salt and black pepper, freshly ground pepper
• 3.1 head garlic, whole head, peeled; for marinade
• 4.125 ml red wine vinegar, for marinade
• 5.60 ml brown sugar, 60ml; for marinade
• 6.250 ml white wine, for marinade
• 7.125 ml olive oil, for marinade
• 8.60 ml dried oregano, for marinade
• 9.250 ml pitted prunes, for marinade
• 10.125 ml green olives, pitted Spanish; for marinade
• 11.125 ml capers, with a little of their brine; for marinade
• 12.6 bay leaves, for marinade
• 13.60 ml Italian parsley or fresh coriander, finely chopped; for marinade and garnish

Method

1. 1.Salt and pepper the chicken pieces.
2. 2.Using the steel blade of the food processor, process the garlic until it is finely pureed. Add the vinegar, the sugar, the wine and lastly the oil. Process until the mixture has emulsified.
3. 3.Stop the machine and stir in the oregano, the prunes, the olives, the capers and their juice and the bayleaves.
4. 4.Put chicken pieces in a suitable dish and pour over the marinade. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
5. 5.Preheat oven to 350°F/180°C. Arrange the chicken pieces in a single layer in one or two large shallow baking pans and spoon marinade over evenly.
6. 6.Bake 50 minutes to 1 hour, basting frequently. Chicken is done when thigh pieces, pricked with a fork at their thickest, run clear.
7. 7.With a slotted spoon, transfer the chicken, prunes, olives and capers to a serving platter. Moisten with a few spoonfuls of pan juices and sprinkle generously with parsley or cilantro.
8. 8.Remove any fat from the remaining pan juices. Taste and thicken if needed.

Notes

• Overnight marination is essential to the moistness of the finished product.
• The chicken keeps and even improves over several days of refrigeration.
• To serve cold: cool to room temperature in cooking juices before transferring to a platter. If refrigerated, allow to return to room temperature before serving.
• Tip from original: remove the prunes, olives and capers from the marinade at the time of baking. Replace them halfway through the baking time — they dried out if baked the whole time.
• NOTE: The original lists '½ cup brown sugar' as 60ml. This is inconsistent (½ cup ≈ 125ml); 60ml ≈ ¼ cup. The 60ml (¼ cup) figure is likely correct.
• Marinade time (overnight) is not included in the prep_minutes estimate.