Chicken Marbella Ottolenghi with dates and olives for Passover

Ottolenghi Chicken Marbella is a one-pan tray-bake of chicken with Medjool dates, sweet potatoes, and olives in a sweet and zesty sauce.

This Middle Eastern-inspired updated Chicken Marbella would be perfect for your Passover celebration, or a Thanksgiving table.

This post is a partnership with Natural Delights. Thank you for supporting the brands that make this blog possible; I am proud to only work with companies that I truly believe in.

Updated Chicken Marbella

On our first date, the love of my life told me he was “a meatatarian”. Coupled with the red-and-white checkered shirt and the ‘engineer’ profession tag, I really wasn’t thinking this was going to last.

For you see, I have been a self-avowed vegetarian since the age of 12, after a lot of thought and a chance encounter with a blue-and-red speckled Georgian sausage that really didn’t end well. Approximately five years ago, I added fish to my diet.

But chicken? That seemed like a far-fetched compromise to make, even for someone you seemed to like a lot.

And then I got pregnant. And all of a sudden, every walk through a supermarket ended with me drooling over rotisserie chicken; every salad was topped with a chicken breast; and my idea of a snack became a chicken drumstick. My pregnant body, swelling with the contours of a growing baby, demanded the same thing that my husband suggested many moons ago: chicken. And I obliged.

But no chicken recipe has ever appealed to me as much as this updated Chicken Marbella, which I first discovered in Ottolenghi's Simple cookbook. In this recipe, bone-in and skin-on chicken thighs or drumsticks are first marinated, and then cooked in a sticky, sweet and zesty sauce of wine, dates, sweet potatoes, olives and capers.

In my version, I replace the thyme with cilantro, layer the pan with sweet potato wedges, add more date molasses and use high-quality, Natural Delights Medjool Dates. The result is the ultimate Passover one-pan tray-bake Chicken Marbella, Ottolenghi-style.

The Perfect Passover Main Dish

My updated Ottoleghi Chicken Marbella is my favourite easy main dish for a special occasion - most fittingly, for Passover or Thanksgiving.

Our love for this dish started last year, when we had to hold a virtual Passover across Zoom, across state lines, across time zones and across many technological barriers. With a squirming baby who just wanted to breastfeed, a looming fear of a pandemic, and less time on my hands to test recipes, I went for a dish I knew would be easy and foolproof, an Ottolenghi adaptation of the classic Chicken Marbella.

Sweet, sticky, salty and beautifully seasoned, this is an unbelievably delicious festive dish that looks beautiful, feels luxurious - and takes 10 minutes of active work to make.

Can you blame me for making it every year?

The secret to making this dish even better than the original Chicken Marbella is simple: Natural Delights Medjool dates were the star of this show, and the main inspiration for this dish.

Ingredient Spotlight: Medjool Dates

The secret ingredient that makes my Ottolenghi Chicken Marbella so good are Natural Delights Medjool Dates.

I love cooking & baking with Medjool dates. Natural Delights' Medjool Dates are very high in antioxidants, fibre, potassium and micro-nutrients. They are naturally plump and sweet because they are packaged fresh, and not dried, without any sulphites or preservatives.

Medjool dates are known as nature's candy, which makes them a wonderful replacement for the sugar in this updated Chicken Marbella. I augment them with some paleo date molasses for a special Middle Eastern taste.

Natural Delights Medjool Dates are grown using organic growing practices, and the fruit is packaged and shipped to stores when it's perfectly fresh. Natural Delights Medjool Dates last in a sealed jar in my pantry for months, and are available year-round in the produce section of your favourite grocery store.

What is so special about this updated Chicken Marbella Ottolenghi?

My version of Ottolenghi's Chicken Marbella takes a delicious meal and makes it into a festive, but easy one-pan tray-bake that is a complete meal (for another Middle-Eastern inspired chicken recipe, try my chicken kofta kebabs).! This Chicken Marbella recipe is:

• festive
• requires 10 minutes of work
• can be made ahead
• beautiful
• a complete meal in one tray
• gluten-free
• free of refined sugars
• freezer-friendly
• perfect for a family celebration like Passover or Thanksgiving
• kid-friendly
• paleo

Ingredients

• chicken thighs, skin on and bone-in (you can also use chicken breasts or drumsticks)
• garlic cloves
• fresh cilantro leaves
• red wine vinegar
• olive oil
• green olives
• capers
• Natural Delights Medjool dates
• bay leaves
• salt
• black pepper
• dry red wine
• sweet potatoes
• date molasses (can be replaced with pomegranate molasses, regular molasses or maple syrup)

Directions

Prepare and marinate the chicken

Prepare a large baking pan or baking sheet by covering it with parchment paper.

If you have time to marinate the chicken, place chicken pieces in a large bowl and add the garlic, cilantro, vinegar, oil, olives, capers, Medjool dates, bay leaves, 1 teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon black pepper. If you are cooking the chicken straightaway, then rub the chicken with the salt and pepper prior to placing it in the marinade of garlic, cilantro, vinegar, oil, olives, capers, dates and bay leaves. Stir everything to combine, cover the bowl and let the chicken marinate for at least 2 hours, and up to two days.

Preheat the oven to 400°F.

Arrange sweet potatoes and chicken in baking sheet

Spread out the sweet potatoes along the sides of the baking sheet. Arrange chicken thighs, along with all the marinade ingredients, letting it overlap with the sweet potatoes. Whisk together the wine and molasses and pour over the meat. Drizzle sweet potatoes with 3-4 TBs of olive oil and sprinkle generously with 1 teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon pepper.

Bake chicken, dates and sweet potatoes in the oven

Place Ottolenghi Chicken Marbella with dates in the oven and cook for 50 minutes, basting two or three times, until the meat is golden brown on top and cooked through.

Serve with more fresh cilantro

Remove tray from the oven, transfer chicken, sweet potatoes and everything else to a large platter, sprinkle with some fresh cilantro, and serve.

Scaling the recipe, Make ahead and Storage

This recipe can easily be scaled up or down. I have made it with 4-8 chicken breasts or thighs at a time, without any issues. The cooking time or the marinate don't need to change, it just produces a saucier Chicken Marbella, or slightly less saucy.

The beauty of this recipe, and the reason I love making it for passover and other holidays, is that it can be made ahead and frozen. The chicken can rest in the marinade up to two days, and will keep plump and succulent if packed in an airtight container after baking for up to 3 days.

This recipe is very freezer-friendly. Ottolenghi Chicken Marbella can be baked and frozen for up to 6 months. Just defrost it naturally and reheat it in the microwave or in the oven for best results.

What to serve with Ottolenghi Chicken Marbella?

The beauty of this one-pan tray-bake is that you get both chicken and the side dish to go with it, all in one go! You can also use regular rice or potatoes instead of the sweet potato wedges.

But if you're looking for something special, the following dishes shine alongside my Chicken Marbella Ottolenghi style.

Dominant flavors and ingredients

The dominant flavors and ingredients in this Middle Eastern Chicken Marbella are the sweetness of the dates, the creaminess of the roasted sweet potatoes, and the brininess of the olives.

Substitutions

If you want to substitute the sweet potatoes for regular potato wedges, go ahead. The olives can be substituted for black olives, and the capers can be omitted.

If you prefer not to drink wine, then substitute it for orange juice, pomegranate juice or cranberry juice.

You can use regular molasses or maple syrup instead of date molasses. Pomegranate molasses will also give you a similar flavor.

Top Tips

• For best results, marinate the chicken a day in advance. It makes the chicken moist and plump, and allows the flavors to perfectly penetrate.
• Try to find smaller sweet potatoes, as they make prettier wedges.
• Date molasses give the dish a special, sweet-and-sour flavor. They are also devoid of added sugars and are completely natural. Do your best to find them in a Middle Eastern store near you.
• Good, plump Medjool dates make all the difference in this dish. Using dried dates of any other kind will not yield the same results.

Adaptations

My one-tray Chicken Marbella Ottolenghi is nut-free, grain-free, soy-free, gluten-free and paleo, because it uses date molasses instead of refined sugar. You can substitute the wine for freshly squeezed orange juice, although all of the alcohol will naturally cook out.

Vegan & vegetarian

Substitute the chicken for tofu steaks. For an all vegetable option, you can also use portobello mushrooms and skip the marinating.

When to Serve

I love serving this for Passover dinner, ie the Seder! It makes for a beautiful centrepiece.

This Middle Eastern Chicken Marbella with dates and olives would also be great as part of a Thanksgiving table. And of course, it makes for an easy, beautiful dinner any regular Friday night.

Step by Step Web Story

To see the step-by-step web story on how to make this easy Ottolenghi recipe, check out my Easy Chicken Recipes: Ottolenghi Chicken Marbella Story.

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Recipe

Tried and loved this recipe? Please leave a 5-star review below! Your reviews mean a lot to me, so if you've got any questions, please let me know in a comment.

Chicken Marbella Ottolenghi-style

Ksenia Prints

Can be marinated for up to 2 days, or cooked straightaway. If cooking straightaway, rub chicken with 1 teaspoon of salt and pepper instead of placing those in the marinade. Adapted from Julee Rosso and Sheila Lukins’s The Silver Palate, and Yotam Ottolenghi's Simple.

4.42 from 58 votes

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 50 minutes mins

Resting time 2 hours hrs

Total Time 3 hours hrs

Course Main Course, Poultry

Cuisine Jewish, Middle Eastern

Servings 6 people

Calories 509 kcal

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 6 chicken thighs, breasts or drumsticks skin on and bone-in, scored a few times
• 4 garlic cloves crushed
• ¾ cup fresh cilantro leaves chopped plus more for serving
• 3 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 3 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 cup pitted green olives
• 5 tablespoon capers plus 2 tablespoon of their brine
• 1 cup Natural Delights Medjool dates pitted and quartered lengthwise (equal to 7 individual dates or 120g)
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• ½ cup dry red wine (120ml)
• 2 large sweet potatoes or 4 small cut into wedges
• 2 TBs date molasses can be replaced with pomegranate molasses, regular molasses or maple syrup

Instructions

 

• Prepare a large baking pan or baking sheet by covering it with parchment paper.
• If you have time to marinate the chicken, place chicken pieces in a large bowl and add the garlic, cilantro, vinegar, oil, olives, capers, Medjool dates, bay leaves, 1 teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon black pepper. If you are cooking the chicken straightaway, then rub the chicken with the salt and pepper prior to placing it in the marinade of garlic, cilantro, vinegar, oil, olives, capers, dates and bay leaves. Stir everything to combine, cover the bowl and let the chicken marinate for at least 2 hours, and up to two days.
• Preheat the oven to 400°F.
• Spread out the sweet potatoes along the sides of the baking sheet. Arrange chicken thighs, along with all the marinade ingredients, letting it overlap with the sweet potatoes. Whisk together the wine and molasses and pour over the meat. Drizzle sweet potatoes with 3-4 TBs of olive oil and sprinkle generously with 1 teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon pepper.
• Place Ottolenghi Chicken Marbella with dates in the oven and cook for 50 minutes, basting two or three times, until the meat is golden brown on top and cooked through.
• Remove tray from the oven, transfer chicken, sweet potatoes and everything else to a large platter, sprinkle with some fresh cilantro, and serve.

Nutrition

Calories: 509kcalCarbohydrates: 36gProtein: 50gFat: 16gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 145mgSodium: 1616mgPotassium: 1299mgFiber: 5gSugar: 20gVitamin A: 11028IUVitamin C: 6mgCalcium: 72mgIron: 2mg

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