I am not sure where I found this recipe but I was intrigued to use a recipe using prunes, olives, and wine! This is a go-to recipe I have made for dinner parties for years and everyone always loves it but agrees they probably would never have made it just by reading the ingredients.
I make this recipe with about a 5 lb cut up chicken but I always throw in two or three extra thighs because people always go back for seconds on this dish!
- Prep time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Marinating time: 3 hours
- Yield: Serves 5-8
INGREDIENTS
- 2 chickens, 2 1/2 lbs each, quartered, bone-in, skin-on
- Cloves from 1/2 head of garlic, peeled and finely puréed
- 2 tablespoons dried oregano
- Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 cup pitted prunes
- 8 large pitted Spanish green olives, cut in half
- 1/4 cup capers with a bit of juice
- 3 bay leaves
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup white wine
- 2 tablespoons fresh Italian parsley, finely chopped
METHOD
1 Marinate the chicken: I mix the garlic, oregano, salt and pepper to taste, vinegar, olive oil, prunes, olives, capers with caper juice, and bay leaves in a gallon zip lock bag. Add the chicken pieces and coat completely with the marinade. Cover and let marinate, refrigerated, several hours or overnight. ( I always marinate this dish overnight)
2 Place chicken in baking pan, top with marinade, brown sugar, wine: Preheat oven to 350°F. Arrange chicken in a single layer in one or two large, shallow baking pans and spoon marinade over it evenly. Sprinkle brown sugar over the chicken pieces and pour white wine around them.
3 Bake until done: Bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour, basting frequently with the pan juices. Chicken is done when a sharp knife inserted into the thigh pieces, at their thickest point, run with clear yellow juices (not pink).
4 Serve with pan juices: With a slotted spoon, move the chicken, prunes, olives, and capers to a serving platter. Pour some of the pan juices over the chicken and sprinkle generously with parsley. Serve remaining juices in a gravy boat.
ENJOY!
