Oscar Chicken

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This recipe is dedicated to my dad, who unknowingly started a family tradition that had very little to do with the actual Oscars and a whole lot to do with food.

One year, he made this chicken and then we sat on the couch to watch the Oscars. I was a kid at the time so I hadn’t seen half the movies and found the whole thing kinda boring? The chicken on the other hand was easily the most memorable thing of the night, and something that would become one of my favourite things he’d cook for us.

The next year, a few hours before the oscars were on tv, my sister and I asked my dad “Are we having oscar chicken?” My poor dad panicked and now realising he’d started a tradition. So, year after year, we had this chicken. Not really because we cared about the oscars, but because it was an excuse to eat something amazing and then fall asleep halfway through a three-hour show that my sister and I weren’t really paying attention to anyway. There’s a long list of chefs doing their own adaptation of a chicken marbella, this one is my favourite version. Salty capers and olives, sweet prunes that get jammy and the red wine vinegar really brings it all together. This goes great with mashed potatoes, dauphinoise potatoes, leek casserole, whatever you like!

So, here it is: Oscar Chicken. Perfect, delicious, and deserves a standing ovation.

Oscar Chicken Recipe
Prep Time: 15 mins  ·  Cook Time: 2 hours  ·  Serves: 2-3   Print This Recipe
Ingredients: 1kg bone in skin on skinless chicken thighs or skinless, whichever you like (about 4-5 bone in chicken thighs) For the marinade: 8 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced 3 tbsp capers + 2 tbsp brine 100g green olives (I use pitted but you can also use stone-in, just be careful when eating) 200g prunes 2 tbsp fresh tarragon, roughly chopped 2 tbsp sage, roughly chopped 150ml red wine vinegar 100ml oil (I do half olive oil and half vegetable oil) 1 tbsp whole peppercorns 1 tsp flakey salt 2 bay leaves For the braise: 200 ml dry white wine 200 ml chicken stock	Directions: Combine all marinade ingredients in a large bowl and add chicken thighs. Using your hands, mix together until chicken is coated. Your hands are your best tool here, crack the olives in half, give the prunes a tear and massage into chicken. This is a chunky marinade so were just looking to open the olives and prunes up a bit. Cover in cling film and place in the fridge. Marinate for at least 6 hours up to 24 hours. When ready to cook, preheat oven to 160ºC and heat a dutch oven pot on medium high on the hob. Add chicken thighs skin side down one at a time to pot until lightly browned.Remove chicken from pot and deglaze with white wine scraping bits from the bottom of pot. Add marinade from bowl to pot with chicken stock and return chicken thighs back to the pot. You want them to be mostly submergered but the skin side above the liquid. Cover with lid and place in the oven for 1.5-2 hours, checking halfway through and adding remaining stock if most of the liquid has evaporated. Remove lid for remaining 30 min. Remove from oven and serve! I usually plate the chicken and ladle over the sauce.

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