Chicken Marbella is a classic dish among the boomer generation. Featured in the popular “Silver Palate Cookbook” authored by Julee Rosso and Sheila Lukins, the recipe first debuted in 1982, and was timely published on Mother’s Day.
Chicken Marbella carries with it a significant degree of sophistication owing to its Spanish origi, but it’s easy enough to cook for a kitchen beginner.
Chicken Marbella is an excellent dish when entertaining guests or during a picnic. Olives, capers, and prunes provide tempting colors and layers of textures.
It’s also important to marinade chicken parts overnight for optimum moisture and juiciness.
Overall, Chicken Marbella is fairly easy to cook, but you don’t want to shortcut the marinating time to get the most of the flavors.
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What To Serve With Chicken Marbella
If you’re looking for excellent options on what to serve with Chicken Marbella, here are ideas worth exploring:
1. Mashed Potatoes
One of most obvious choices to pair with Chicken Marbella is your fair share of starch, and this is where mashed potatoes come to mind.
Mashed potatoes complement the tenderness of the chicken as well as its texture and flavors.
Mashed potatoes are also a good source of carbohydrates, so when paired with the protein-rich chicken, you have a full and complete meal.
2. Couscous
Couscous is a great option if you’re looking for a lighter alternative for common starches like mashed potatoes and rice.
Its tiny grains and bland flavor will absorb much of the Marbella’s flavor and help balance everything out.
One good way to serve couscous alongside Chicken Marbella is to mix it with almonds and dried cranberries with a drizzle of orange vinaigrette.
This will impart nutty and fruity flavors to the couscous, while the orange vinaigrette offers a more refreshing twist to it.
3. Brown Rice
Given that the Chicken Marbella already has some complex flavors, using plain rice like brown rice will help even out the tastes between the side and the main dish.
Add cooked brown rice to the pan where the remains of the juices are and stir to combine evenly.
The brown rice should acquire most of the flavors from the dishes and will taste just as great.
Brown rice has a hint of nutty flavor and is perfect in balancing out the pungent and sophistication of the chicken so that everything tastes even and complementary.
4. Bread
Bread is a very convenient choice because you can easily purchase store-bought ones. But if you’re looking for a more personalized and healthy touch, opt for homemade whole wheat bread.
Bread is great with Chicken Marbella because you can easily soak up the remaining juices and by swiping bread over your plate.
5. Toasted Polenta
Polenta is a cornmeal mush that’s staple in Northern Italian cuisine. A great way to prepare it as a side dish is to turn polenta into toasted squares, so it resembles the texture of the dough.
Toasted polenta is done by cooking the cornmeal and adding liquid, so it becomes sticky and creamy.
Once the polenta becomes dough-like in texture, use a cookie cutter to make perfect squares from it and bake these squares.
Like plain bread, toasted Polenta is like a blank canvas and is ideal for absorbing the Marbella’s yummy juices to the very last drop.
6. Stir-fried Vegetables and Vegetable Salads
Unlike the above-aforementioned carbs and starches, vegetables are lighter to the stomach and provide a whole new dimension when it comes to taste and flavors alongside Chicken Marbella.
Sauté Swiss chard, spinach or watercress in olive oil and sprinkle some fresh garlic. Alternatively, stir-fried Brussels sprouts and asparagus in butter and garlic will also make a good side.
Green salads are healthy side dishes, too. One of the easiest you can come up with is the cucumber vinaigrette. Simply combine diced cucumbers, olive oil, tomatoes, red onion, garlic, white vinegar and agave syrup in a bowl and serve with the chicken.
7. Roasted Cauliflower and Broccoli
Serving roasted cauliflower and broccoli with Chicken Marbella is also an excellent way to get your fill of vegetables in dinnertime.
The simplest recipe is to break cauliflower and broccoli into florets; drizzle with olive oil and season with salt before baking.
To further enhance the flavors, you can make cheese-milk sauce and pour over cauliflower and broccoli or season with grated parmesan cheese before baking.
Conclusion For What To Serve With Chicken Marbella
Chicken Marbella is an excellent dish all on its own, but serving it with a great side dish makes up a more palatable experience.
From plain brown rice, couscous, bread to your choice of stir-fried vegetables, you definitely have a lot of options for the perfect side dishes.
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