Roast Chicken With Apricots and Olives

This dish is reminiscent of the iconic Silver Palate’s Chicken Marbella from the ’70’s, but instead of prunes this dish uses apricots, which are much less sweet, and become almost savory as they roast. Sitting in a complex sweet and briny marinade overnight, the dish is packed with tons of flavor. Plus you’ve done the work of putting it all together the day before so makes roasting and serving a breeze the day of presenting to friends or family.

I don’t remember where I found this recipe, but it is absolutely delicious! I served over Jasmin rice steamed in a rich chicken stock and lightly steamed zucchini. I wanted to keep the accompaniments simple as the dish has so many different flavors.

Start by assembling your ingredients. The original recipe called for sumac.

Sumac has a tangy citrusy flavor, a little gentler than lemon or vinegar. I did not have sumac in my pantry, but did have ZA’ATAR, which is a flavor-packed Middle Eastern spice mix consisting of wild thyme, sesame seeds, sumac, salt and sunflower oil. It worked perfectly.

Next, peel the shallots and cut into quarters or eighths depending on size of the shallot.

You can use any combination of chicken you like or even dissect a whole chicken, but I kept it simple and used 5 large bone-in, skin on chicken thighs for a total of 4 lbs. Slash through the skin a few times, about 1 inch deep. This helps the marinade totally soak into the meat. Season liberally with salt and coarsely ground back pepper and set aside while you put together the marinade.

Whisk 1/4 cup each of fresh lemon juice, orange juice and honey. Add 6 large cloves of thinly sliced garlic, 3/4 tsp. dried thyme, 3 Tbsp. sumac or ZA’ATAR and 4 Tbsp. olive oil in a bowl. Add the shallots, 1/4 cup dry white wine, one lemon sliced, 1 cup of dried apricots and 1 cup of pitted Castelvetrano olives plus 2 Tbsp. of olive brine.

Castelvetrano olives, native to the Valle del Belice region of Sicily, are bright green with a mild, sweet, almost nutty buttery flavor. They do not have the bitterness or harsh saltiness of some olives. Even if you are not an olive lover, I think you will fall in love with these olives.

Place the scored chicken thighs in a large zip-lock bag. Pour the marinade over the chicken and remove as much air as possible before sealing. Just in case the bag leaks, set on a sheet pan and refrigerate at least 2 hours, preferably overnight, turning the bag occasionally to ensure the marinade soaks into every piece of chicken.

The next day position oven rack about 8 inches from the broiler. Place a second oven rack in the lower third of the oven and heat oven to 450 degrees. Take the chicken out of the fridge and bring to room temperature; about 30 minutes on the counter.

Using your hands or a slotted spoon scoop out the chicken and all of the marinade ingredients and place chicken skin-side up on a foil-lined baking sheet. Reserve what’s left of the marinade.

Roast on the lower rack for 15 minutes, basting the chicken a couple of times with the pan drippings, and cook until chicken juices run clear, about 10 more minutes. I like to take its temperature to make sure thighs are cooked through, but not overdone. In this case they should be about 160 degrees as the final cooking under the broiler will bring it to 165 degrees.

Remove the pan from the oven and heat the broiler to high. Pour the reserved marinade over the chicken and broil until the chicken is browned and the liquid gets a little thicker; about 5 minutes. Because of the sugars (orange juice and honey) it can catch quickly so keep an eye on it so it doesn’t get too charred. A little charring enhances the flavors; too much will make it bitter.

Transfer to a platter and pour remaining sauce from the sheet pan over everything and serve with rice or creamy mashed potatoes and a veg.

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Roast Chicken with Apricots and Olives

Tangy, citrusy with loads of flavor. This one is a crowd pleaser!

Ingredients

• 4 lbs. Chicken, either thighs, breasts or whole bird cut up Bones and skin are a must.
• 1 Tbsp. Kosher salt
• 1 tsp. Freshly ground coarse black pepper
• 1/4 cup Lemon juice, freshly squeezed
• 1 Lemon, sliced, seeds removed
• 1/4 cup Orange juice
• 1/4 cup Honey
• 6 lge. Garlic cloves, sliced thinly
• 3/4 tsp. Dried thyme
• 3 Tbsp. Sumac or ZA'ATAR spice blend
• 4 Tbsp. Olive oil
• 1 cup Dried apricots
• 1 cup Castelvetrano olives, pitted
• 2 Tbsp. Olive juice
• 4 lge. Shallots, peeled and cut lengthwise into quarters
• 1/4 cup Dry white wine

Instructions

• Slash each piece of chicken through the skin a few times, about 1 inch deep. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.
• Whisk 1/4 cup lemon juice, 1/4 cup orange juice, 1/4 cup honey, garlic, thyme, sumac, and 4 Tbsp. olive oil in a large bowl. Stir well to combine. Add lemon slices, shallots, 1 cup apricots, 1 cup olives and 2 Tbsp. olive brine and 1/4 cup white wine.
• Place the chicken in a large zip-lock bag and pour the marinade over the chicken. Remove as much air as possible and seal tightly. Set on a sheet pan and place in the refrigerator for 2 hours or overnight, turning the bag from time to time.
• The next day, take the chicken out of the fridge and bring to room temp. Position an oven rack about 8 inches from the broiler and position a second rack in the lower third of the oven. Heat oven to 450 degrees.
• Using your hands or slotted spoon remove chicken and all marinade ingredients and place in an even layer on a foil-lined baking sheet, reserving the liquid marinade. Make sure the chicken is skin-side up.
• Roast on the lower rack for 15 minutes until the chicken juices run clear. Baste the chicken with the pan drippings and cook for another 10 minutes until chicken reaches 160 degrees. Remove the pan from the oven and heat the broiler on high.
• Pour the reserved marinade over the chicken and broil until the chicken is browned and the liquid is thickened; about 5 minutes.
• Transfer to a platter and pour any remaining juices over the chicken and serve.