This is a variant on a dish that is actually called Chicken Marbella, made famous by a 1970s NewYork food shop called The Silver Palate. I renamed it because there was a time, when I lived in North London in Hampstead Garden Suburb, that you could not go to a dinner party without it being served.
It’s one of those recipes that is absolutely foolproof, yet looks – and tastes – extremely impressive, so it was passed from friend to friend. Now half my colleagues serve it, too, I’ve passed it on to so many of them!
I still make it regularly, with a couple of my own twists. You need to marinate this the day before you want to serve it, so it does need a little bit of advance planning. Or you could marinate it in the morning and cook it that evening.
Recipe from Cherish, Headline
- Place the chicken, onions and lemon slices into a large bowl.
- Scatter over the capers, prunes and olives.
- Mix together the olive brine, vinegar, olive oil, white wine,coriander seeds and crushed garlic. Pour the mixture over the chicken and mix everything around well. Add the bay leaves, scatter with oregano and place the cinnamon stick pieces among the chicken. Cover with cling film and place in the fridge overnight (or for at least 4 hours if preparing the same day).
- When you are ready to cook, preheat the oven to 190°C.
- Tip the chicken, juices and marinade ingredients into a
- roasting tray and arrange in a single layer with all the marinade ingredients evenly scattered around the chicken pieces.
- Sprinkle over the brown sugar. Roast for 1 hour, basting the chicken with the pan juices halfway through cooking.
- Scatter with chopped parsley and coriander before serving with couscous or rice.
