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Chicken Marbella with Turmeric Rice Pilaf

Roberta Reynolds
The original Chicken Marbella recipe was created by Sheila Lukins and Julie Russo, two of my favorite cookbook authors. Even though I have a cookbook collection of embarrassing proportions, my favorite volumes are still those written by these two. Full of inspiration and new ideas, funny sidebars and notes, and beautiful pen and ink drawings – if you can get your hands on one or two, you will be a lucky person. Here is my version of their Chicken Marbella recipe – chicken marinated in brown sugar and wine (oops – I threw some brandy in also as if you didn’t guess), with capers, garlic, olives, and a whole lot of dried plums and apricots.. The easy part is that the chicken is baked right in the marinade, so none of that good stuff goes to waste. The dried plums almost melt into the sauce, so you get that addictive combination of sweet, savory, and deep richness. I’ve added a Turmeric Rice Pilaf, because you really will want something to soak up all of that beautiful marinade. Addition of just a touch of turmeric makes the rice a beautiful golden color. Chicken Marbella was invented to feed a crowd, so feel free to double this recipe if the mood strikes.
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Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes
Servings 6 generous servings

Ingredients
  

  • FOR THE CHICKEN MARBELLA
  • About 3 ½ pounds of boneless skinless chicken pieces cut chicken breasts in half or in thirds if they’re huge
  • ½ cup Olive Oil
  • ½ cup Fig Balsamic Vinegar
  • 1 cup Brown Sugar
  • 1 cup White Wine
  • ¼ cup brandy optional but really good if I do say so myself
  • 6 cloves of Garlic roughly chopped
  • ¼ cup dried herb combination of your choice I like oregano, marjoram, and thyme combined. I shy away from dried basil because it’s usually so dull and doesn’t taste anything like real basil
  • 6 Bay Leaves
  • 6 green onions sliced on the bias
  • 2 Meyer lemons or one regular lemon sliced
  • 2 cups dried Plums halved
  • 1 cup dried apricots halved
  • 1 cup pitted Green Olives halved
  • ½ cup Capers
  • Plenty of Salt and Pepper to taste – start with a good teaspoon of salt then taste your marinade to see if you don’t need a tad more.
  • FOR THE TURMERIC RICE PILAF
  • 1 cup Jasmine rice
  • 2-3 teaspoons olive oil
  • ½ -3/4 teaspoon salt
  • 2 ½ - 3 cups chicken broth
  • Approximately ¼ teaspoon turmeric
  • 2 teaspoons butter optional

Instructions
 

  • FOR THE CHICKEN MARBELLA
  • In a large bowl, combine all of the ingredients for the Marbella recipe except the chicken. Mix well and taste to make sure the flavors are balanced to your liking.
  • Spray a 13x9 inch baking dish with cooking spray. Arrange the chicken pieces in the dish, and pour the marinade over the top. Smoosh everything around to make sure your marinade covers all the chicken evenly.
  • Allow to marinate for two hours or overnight.
  • When ready to bake: Heat oven to 350 degrees. Remove bay leaves from the chicken marinade because accidentally eating one of those is a very, very bad thing. Bake chicken until done (breasts register 165 degrees and thighs register about 175. This will take approximately 45 minutes.
  • Serve immediately over Turmeric Rice Pilaf, OR Chicken Marbella is also excellent served at room temperature, but be sure to follow food safety guidelines and only allow this dish to sit out for two hours at room temperature.
  • FOR THE TURMERIC RICE PILAF
  • Heat a skillet over medium heat with the olive oil added until the oil is hot, but not smoking.
  • Stir in the rice and cook until rice becomes translucent – stir often. It will smell kind of like popcorn when it’s ready.
  • Pour in the chicken broth and add the salt. Stir to combine.
  • Cover the skillet and cook over medium heat until almost all of the chicken broth is absorbed.
  • Stir in the turmeric. Is it the yellow color you like? Or do you want to add more? Be careful! A little turmeric goes a long way, and I don’t want you to end up with florescent rice.
  • When all of the liquid has been absorbed, turn off the heat and allow the rice to rest for 10 minutes before serving.
  • PS. Sometimes I add a little more broth in at this time if things look a little dry – I also like to sneak in a couple of teaspoons of butter right about now, just to add to the richness factor.