What To Serve With Chicken Marbella: The Best Sides For A Delicious Dish
Whether it is an intimate celebration at home with the family or a party you are hosting for your closest friends, or even if there is no special occasion, serving Chicken Marbella is a real treat. It offers an explosion of flavors that will surely tickle the taste buds. It will even taste better when it is complemented with the right sides.
If you are curious about what to serve with Chicken Marbella, keep on reading and we’ll recommend some of the best choices. These sides are easy to prepare and can enhance the fuller flavor of your main dish. The best thing is that you do not need to be a seasoned chef to prepare them!
What Is Chicken Marbella?
via: https://cooking.nytimes.com
Before discussing the perfect choices for a side dish, let us first have a quick look at what Chicken Marbella is. Considered as a typical boomer dish, the recipe for this dish first appeared in The Silver Palate Cookbook, a compilation of recipes from Sheila Lukins and Julee Rosso. The book was released in 1982, just in time for Mother’s Day.
Chicken Marbella has distinctive colors and flavors, which make it appetizing. Aside from chicken, it contains capers, olives, and prunes. It is marinated overnight, which will allow the fuller extraction of flavor, resulting in optimal moisture as well.
Below is a short video that shows how to prepare Chicken Marbella:
What To Serve With Chicken Marbella
Traditionally, Chicken Marbella is used as a side dish or an appetizer. For many, however, it is good enough for the main dish. In the case of the latter, below are some of the best choices for tasty sides:
Basmati Rice
It is a special variety of long and slender rice, which originates in India. It is available in both white and brown varieties. It has a chemical that is not found in white rice, which is the one responsible for making it more aromatic. This fragrance will perfectly go with the flavor of Chicken Marbella.
Still, while basmati rice comes with a unique aroma, it is not overpowering. At the end of the day, it is still Chicken Marbella that will be more dominant. From the first bite, there will be an explosion of flavors in your mouth.
Mashed Potato
This is another side dish that will be a perfect complement for your Chicken Marbella. Mashed potato comes with a creamy and delicious taste, without overpowering. It is best to serve it plain so that more of the flavor will come from the chicken.
Preparing mashed potato is a relatively easy process. One of the easiest ways to do this is to simply mix butter, hot milk, and boiled potatoes. Mash it until the desired consistency is achieved.
Couscous
If you prefer lighter starches, couscous will offer the perfect replacement for mashed potato or rice. Couscous is not pasta, but a grain. It is made from steamed wheat flour and semonila, with an appearance that is similar to rice. It has a very light flavor, which is exactly the reason why it is perfect for the aromatic Chicken Marbella.
Cooking couscous at home should be not a hard task. There are many products that are already pre-cooked. All that you have to do is to mix it with boiling water and you will end up having fluffy grains.
Vegetables
If you are into healthy living, you are most probably eating a lot of greens. A salad is perhaps a staple in your daily diet. Chicken Marbella will also taste best when you mix it with vegetables. It is not only healthy, but it is surely going to be a delicious meal.
A simple salad will taste better when you top it with slices of Chicken Marbella. You can mix cucumber, tomatoes, lettuce, red onion, garlic, and white vinegar or red wine vinegar. Finish by putting the chicken on the top. Alternatively, you can also eat it with stir-fry vegetables.
Polenta
In case you do not know, polenta is a creamy and thick dish that is popular in Italian cuisine, especially from the country’s northern region. It is made by grinding corn and flour. In its simplest sense, polenta is a cornmeal porridge.
When eaten with Chicken Marbella, on the other hand, it is best to toast polenta first, which will help in the improvement of its texture. Cut it into squares and place the chicken on the top of the toast. Garnish with your choice of vegetables. It also has a light flavor, which is why it is still the taste of the chicken that will reign supreme.
Bread
Simplicity is a good thing, even when it comes to food. With this, if you are looking for the perfect pairing for Chicken Marbella, a simple bread will do the trick. The good thing about bread is that it is filling, yet it has a straightforward flavor that will make the chicken stand out.
A soft bread is the best choice. This way, you can swipe the bread on the plate to take out the remaining juices from the chicken. Garlic bread can be a good choice to make the chicken become more flavorful.
Conclusion
In this guide, we discussed what to serve with chicken Marbella. In case you need to be refreshed, below are some of the things mentioned above:
- Chicken Marbella is a classic boomer dish that was first introduced in 1982 from The Silver Palate Cookbook. Aside from chicken, it is marinated with capers, olives, and prunes. It has a bold flavor and fragrant aroma because of the ingredients used.
- Some of the best choices for the perfect sides for Chicken Marbella include basmati rice, mashed potato, couscous, vegetables, polenta, and bread. It is best to settle with sides that are light, which will allow the flavor of the chicken to be dominant.
Did you enjoy reading this guide? Have you eaten Chicken Marbella before? What did you eat with it? Feel free to leave a comment below.