Even the classic Chicken Marbella could use an update
Plenty of cookbooks land on my desk. Some are page turners of mouth-watering recipes. Some are just, well, routine. One new book caught my eye for the former reason and because of the author’s previous books on a program she co-created.
The “Whole30 Cookbook: 150 Delicious and Totally Compliant Recipes to Help You Succeed with the Whole30 and Beyond,” by Melissa Hartwig (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, $30) came out in December. It has been on New York Times best-sellers list for nine weeks.
What is the Whole30? “Think of the Whole30 like pushing the reset button with your health, your habits and your relationship with food,” Hartwig writes.
The Whole30 is a plan that helps you figure out what foods may compromise your health and how you feel without you even knowing it. And by compromise, Hartwig means you have to look at how food triggers things like sugar spikes, mood swings, sleep issues, digestion, cravings and more.
What I like about the book is the recipes. Even if you’re not going to follow the program, the recipes aren’t daunting or challenging, use common ingredients and look appealing.
This Chicken Marbella and Sauteed Kale was a huge hit. It’s a takeoff of the famed and classic Chicken Marbella (which I love) from “The Silver Palate Cookbook.” The Whole30 version has some of the same ingredients, like capers and olives. The difference is the chicken is not marinated overnight and cooked in the marinade like the original, and it’s served on a bed of sauteed kale.
Chicken Marbella and Sauteed Kale
Adapted from “Whole30 Cookbook: 150 Delicious and Totally Compliant Recipes to Help You Succeed with the Whole30 and Beyond” by Melissa Hartwig (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, $30).
4 large bone-in, skin on chicken thighs (about 1 1/2 pounds), trimmed of excess fat
1/4 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup pitted dates, halved
1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives, drained
2 medium shallots, peeled, thinly sliced
1/2 cup chicken bone broth or good quality chicken broth
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons capers, rinsed and drained
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
Kale:
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cloves garlic, peeled, thinly sliced
2 bunches kale, tough stems removed, leaves chopped
1/2 cup chicken bone broth or good quality chicken broth
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Pat the chicken dry with paper towel. Season all over with salt and pepper.
In a large, ovenproof skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the chicken, skin down, and cook until skin is browned, turning once, about 5-8 minutes.
Remove the skillet from heat. Add dates, olives, shallots, broth, vinegar, capers and rosemary and transfer skillet to oven.
Roast, uncovered, until internal temperature of chicken is 165 degrees and meat is no longer pink, 25-30 minutes depending on the size of the thighs.
In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the kale (don’t worry if it looks like too much in the pan; it will cook down) and broth, and stir to combine. Cover and cook until kale is wilted, about 5-8 minutes.
Cook, stirring frequently, until all liquid has evaporated, 2-3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Place the kale on a serving platter and arrange chicken, olives and dates on top. Drizzle with the pan juices.
Yield: 4 servings.
This story was originally published March 21, 2017 at 1:49 PM with the headline "Even the classic Chicken Marbella could use an update."