Chicken Marbell-Ificent
- 1 whole chicken (I had a 6.5lb-er)
- 1 bulb garlic, chopped finely (food processor does a masterful job)
- 1/4 cup dried oregano
- a few dashes good salt and fresh ground pepper ( I like sel gris)
- 2/3 cup red wine vinegar
- 2/3 cup olive oil
- 1 cup pitted dried plums, chopped into bite-size pieces
- 1 cup dried apricots, chopped into bite-size pieces
- 2/3 cup olives, pitted and sliced in half (I used Kalamata, good green olives would be nice too)
- 2/3 cup capers with about 1/3 cup juice
- 8 bay leaves
- 1 1/3 cups brown sugar
- 1 1/2 cups wine ( I think it is equally good with red and white wine - use whatever you have on hand)
- Couscous or rice to serve with (recipe coming soon)
- Put every ingredient except for the chicken, into a bowl.
- Stir carefully as not to damage the bay leaves.
- Put the chicken into a large bag with no holes (if you have one, otherwise you can use a large bowl but the marinade will be distributed more successfully if you use a bag) and pour your bowl of delicious ingredients over chicken and make sure it is coated well.
- Seal the bag (or put a lid on the bowl if that is what you are using) and let the chicken marinate for a long time... ideally overnight. If you don't have a long time, it will still taste heavenly, but the longer the better. Even if you only have a couple hours, however, I would still go for it. Toss the bird a few times during the marination.
- The cooking time will depend on what kind of oven you have - 6.5 bird takes 1 hr 40 mins in my non-convection oven.
- Preheat oven to 425. Place the fruits and bits and leaves from the marinade under and inside the chicken and place the chicken (breast-side up) in a roasting pan. Tie the legs together with a piece of twine (if you are into that look). Then, (if you want to "set it and forget it" leave it be and roast in said position until it is done) or do as I do and complicate things in the name of possibly achieving a juicier breast...
- After 15 minutes, flip the bird over and roast for about 45 minutes "upside-down". Then flip it one last time to finish back in the original position for the last 30 or so minutes... The chicken is done when you pierce the thigh at the thickest point and the juices run clear, rather than pink (or 180 on a meat thermometer)....
- Mound rice or couscous (recipes coming tomorrow) onto a serving platter and set your beautiful bird on top, voila' !
chicken, garlic, oregano, dashes good salt, red wine vinegar, olive oil, dried apricots, olives, capers, bay leaves, brown sugar, wine, couscous
Taken from food52.com/recipes/10538-chicken-marbell-ificent (may not work)