Chicken Marbella

[Wimpy]

I just finished sticking 4 quartered chickens in the fridge with the prune/vinegar/olive oil marinade a la Marbella.  Does anyone know its origins?

A quick search on Google shows how most recipes are lifted from the Silver Palate cookbook (of course, Google is US centric, so perhaps not  such a big surprise).  Other links show possibly a Jewish heritage.  From the name, it is obviously Spanish.

Does anyone have more info?  And btw, what menu can you suggest centered around Chicken Marbella? I always thought it goes great with fresh country bread to sop up the sauce but would appreciate ideas on other side dishes.

Cheers!

[shugga]

Silver Palate is where my recipe comes from.

[jaybee]

Ditto for me.  I played around with their recipe, adding or subtracting some fruits, but on the whole it is a pretty successful dish. In its heyday, I was served a horrid rendition.  Too much garlic, not enough sweet, overcooked, and dry.  yuchh.  It is not foolproof.

[Sandra Levine]

This has been my family's Passover Seder main course for a numberr of years. I serve it with a roasted potato and artichoke heart dish and asparagus, but I think couscous would work very well with it.  Or rice, prepared simply, with a chicken stock.

[Wimpy]

Hi Guys!  Had a taste of my Chicken Marbella last night.  At first, it seemed too sweet (after all, 1 cup brown sugar is a lot) but after cooling and overnight refrigeration, the savory taste of the chicken/vinegar/spices seemed to counteract the first impressions of overwhelming sweetness.  Olives were a bit bitter but I guess it can't be helped unless maybe thrown in at very end (but recipe called for chucking it in as part of marinade).  I threw in apricots with prunes for good measure (I read somewhere they were related anyway).  It's great with toasted baguettes.  

Sandra- I was wondering why/how Marbella has jewish traditions?  Is it Spanish/Jewish?  Is there anything Jewish about the ingredients (other than it being kashrut- I guess as long as chicken is slaughtered correctly)?

Whatever religion you are, it's pretty good.  Lemme know if you have any suggestions for embellishing the dish.  I was thinking toasted sliced almonds to finish it off would be pretty good.  Any other ideas?  

[Sandra Levine]

As far as I know, there is nothing specifically Jewish about it, although it does seem to have a Sephardic character. I make it for Passover because it meets the dietary requirements of the holiday, is so simple to prepare and yet has, for my family, an exotic quality, compared to the usual Ashkenazic fare.  (I do halve the amount of sugar.)

[Liza]

I'd side it with couscous and a green salad. And the slivered almonds idea sounds right on track, too.

[Jinmyo]

Israeli couscous rather than the itty stuff.