For quite some time I’ve wanted to try the popular Silver Palate Chicken Marbella recipe. Olives, prunes, vinegar, wine and bay leaves sounded like it had some ooey gooey sweet sour potential.
This weekend I finally tried the recipe. I made some slight changes for convenience, mostly because I didn’t feel like going back to the store to get dried oregano, so I used fresh from the garden.
I took the pic while the chicken was cooling, before I removed the bay leaves. I had every intention of taking pics once I plated, but we started tasting and tasting.. and tasting some more.. before I knew it there was only 3 pieces left and we were in a chicken coma headed for the couch.
We really enjoyed this dish. Slightly sweet and tangy. Very similar taste profile to an old fashioned South African sweet and sour meat dish, called Denningvleis, where tamarind is used to for the fruity tangy sour flavour, instead of prunes and wine. Denningvleis is one of the oldest recorded recipes in South African history. The combination of sweet, sour and aromatic spices very evocative of Indonesian cuisine.
An interesting little fact about Denningvleis – every time I’ve made it, its wowed people, I can’t tell you how many catering jobs I’ve landed based on that dish alone.
This was a great flavour profile, clearly one thats been around for a long long time. I found chicken marbella to be a tame, toned down version of this old fashioned dish.
I can’t wait to explore this flavour profile again, next time using a “Denning-chicken” recipe.
Original recipe:
1. Combine all ingredients, except white wine and brown sugar, and marinate overnight.
2. Then arrange chicken in single layer in baking pan, spoon over marinade, sprinkle with sugar and white wine.
3. Bake for 50 mins to 1 hour, basting frequently.
4. Add chopped parsley before serving.