THE MARVELOUS CHICKEN MARBELLA REDO

Active: 1 hour 10 mins | Total: 6 to 10 hours, depending on marinating time

4 to 6 servings

THE author updated this beloved classic by using chicken thighs only, swopping honey for sugar and experimenting with different dried fruit.

Consider using sliced fennel for anise flavour, roasted red bell pepper for sweetness and toasted almonds added at the end for crunch. As long as you combine sweet, sour, savoury and briny flavours, you’re guaranteed success.

Serve with mashed potatoes, steamed white rice, creamy grits or polenta, and always offer plenty of crusty bread to sop up the juices.

MAKE AHEAD: The chicken needs to marinate in the fridge for at least 4 hours, and up to 8 hours.

INGREDIENTS

3 tbs extra-virgin olive oil

Juice of 1 large lime or lemon (about ¼ cup)

⅓ cup chopped dried fruit, such as wild blueberries, apricots, dates or raisins

¼ cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, thinly sliced

¼ cup pitted manzanilla olives (or pitted Kalamata olives)

3 large cloves garlic, thinly sliced

2 tbs brined capers, drained

2 tsp dried thyme

¾ tsp fine sea salt

½ tsp Aleppo pepper

8 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs

½ cup dry white wine

¼ cup honey

¼ cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, for serving

STEPS

Combine the oil, lime juice, dried fruit, sun-dried tomatoes, olives, garlic, capers, thyme, salt and Aleppo pepper in a zip-top bag. Add the chicken; press the air out of the bag, seal and massage through the bag to distribute the ingredients.

Place the bag in a mixing bowl (to avoid leakage) and refrigerate for at least 4 hours and up to 8 hours, turning every once in awhile to make sure the chicken thighs are evenly coated.

Preheat the oven to 190°C. Arrange the thighs, skin sides up, in a single layer in a 20cm x 30cm x 5cm baking dish. Pour the marinade around the chicken, then add the wine. Drizzle the honey evenly over the chicken.

Roast for 30 minutes; then start basting the chicken every 10 minutes with the marinade in the baking dish, continuing to roast for 20 to 25 minutes more, or until the chicken has browned on top and its temperature (taken away from the bone) registers 70°C on an instantread thermometer. The juices should run clear when the chicken is pierced with a fork.

Transfer the chicken to a serving platter and tent it loosely with aluminium foil. Pour what’s left in the baking dish into a medium saucepan; bring to a boil over medium-high heat and cook for 5 to 7 minutes, or until it has reduced by half.

Uncover the chicken; pour the sauce over the thighs, then garnish with the parsley. Serve warm.