Chicken Marbella

For 4

1 cut-up chicken 2 ½ lbs or 8 pieces (oysters, legs or breasts) bone-in, skin-on

½ head garlic, peeled and finely puréed or minced

1 ½ tablespoons dried oregano

· 1 teaspoon kosher salt

· ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

· ¼ cup* red wine vinegar

· ¼ cup olive oil

· ½ cup pitted prunes

· ¼ cup Spanish green olives

· ¼ cup capers, with a bit of juice

· 3 bay leaves

· ½ cup light brown sugar

· ½ cup white wine

· 2 tablespoons freshly chopped flat parsley

*A cup is 250 mls

Method

1. In a large bowl combine garlic, oregano, salt, pepper, vinegar, olive oil, prunes, olives, capers with caper juice, and bay leaves. Add the chicken pieces and coat completely with the marinade (use your hands to rub marinade all over and especially under the skin). Cover and let marinate, refrigerated, overnight ideally.

2. Preheat the oven to 180 C.

3. Arrange the chicken in a single layer in a baking dish and spoon marinade over it evenly. Sprinkle the chicken pieces with brown sugar and pour white wine around them.

4. Bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour, basting occasionally with the pan juices.

5. With a slotted spoon, transfer the chicken, prunes, olives, and capers to a serving platter. Add some of the pan juices and sprinkle generously with parsley. Serve remaining sauce in a gravy boat. Alternatively, you can brown the skin and de-fat the gravy before serving. Here's how: When the chicken is done, transfer chicken, prunes, olives and capers to a serving platter, then pour the gravy into a medium bowl and let the fat settle at the top. In the meantime, place the chicken back in baking dishes and broil for a few minutes to brown the skin. While chicken is browning, de-fat the gravy. Transfer chicken pieces back to serving platter and pour some of the gravy over top. Serve remaining sauce in a gravy boat.).

Serve with mashed potatoes, couscous or rice. Simple vegetables, no complex flavours because the dish is very flavoursome.