Recipe of the week: Chicken Marbella: The Silver Palate’s most famous recipe

Twenty-five years ago, two young chefs, Sheila Lukins and Julee Rosso,

published a cookbook of the best recipes from their gourmet takeout shop, The Silver Palate, on New York’s Upper West Side. The original edition

of The Silver Palate Cookbook, written with co-author Michael McLaughlin,

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

sold 2.3 million copies, and Workman Publishing has now released a 25th anniversary edition. Chicken Marbella, with its distinctive combination of

prunes, olives, and capers, became the shop’s—and, later, the cookbook’s—

biggest hit. It’s good either hot or at room temperature, say the authors,

and—when prepared with small drumsticks and wings—also makes a delicious hors d’oeuvre. Overnight marinating is essential to the moistness of the finished product.

Recipe of the week

Chicken Marbella

4 chickens, 2-1/2 pounds each, quartered

1 head of garlic, peeled and finely puréed

1/4 cup dried oregano

Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

1/2 cup red wine vinegar

1/2 cup olive oil

1 cup pitted prunes

1/2 cup pitted Spanish green olives

1/2 cup capers with a bit of juice

6 bay leaves

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup white wine

1/4 cup Italian parsley or fresh cilantro, finely chopped

In large bowl combine chicken quarters, garlic, oregano, pepper, coarse salt to taste, vinegar, olive oil, prunes, olives, capers and juice, bay leaves. Cover and let marinate, refrigerated, overnight.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Arrange chicken in single layer in one or two large, shallow baking pans and spoon marinade over it evenly. Sprinkle chicken pieces with brown sugar and pour white wine around them. Bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour, basting frequently with pan juices. Chicken is done when thigh pieces, pricked with fork at their thickest, yield clear yellow (rather than pink) juice. With slotted spoon transfer chicken, prunes, olives, capers to serving platter. Moisten with several spoonfuls of pan juices; sprinkle generously with parsley or cilantro. Pass remaining pan

juices in sauceboat.

To serve Chicken Marbella cold, cool to room temperature in cooking juices before transferring to a serving platter. If chicken has been covered and refrigerated, allow it to return to room temperature before serving. Spoon some of reserved juices over chicken. Serves 10.