Chicken Marabella

 Instant Pot

yield  4 servings

prep time  15 minutes

cook time  25 minutes

8 bone-in, skin-on, chicken thighs (about 3 lbs)

1 tsp dried oregano

3/4 tsp kosher salt

1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, plus more if needed

3 Tbsp red wine vinegar

2 Tbsp packed light brown sugar

2 Tbsp capers, plus 1 Tbsp brine

4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

1/2 cup dry white wine, such as Pinot Grigio

3/4 cup pitted prunes, halved

1/2 cup pitted green olives

chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, for serving

1.  Turn the instant pot on to [Sauté].  Pat the chicken dry with paper towels and season with the oregano, salt, and pepper.

2.  Heat the olive oil.  Add half the chicken, skin side down, and cook until the skin is golden brown and crisp, 8-10 minutes.  Flip and cook for 1 minute more.  Transfer to a plate and repeat with the remaining chicken (adding more olive oil to the pot if needed).

3.  Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk together the vinegar, brown sugar, and caper brine.

4.  Add the garlic to the pot and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds.  Add the wine and cook, stirring and scraping up any brown bits, for 1 minute.  Add the vinegar mixture along with the prunes, olives, and capers.  Press [Cancel].

5.  Nestle the chicken in the olive mixture.  Lock the lid and ensure vent is closed.  Press [Manual] and cook on high pressure for 10 minutes.  Use the "Quick Release" method to vent the steam, then open the lid.

6.  Serve the chicken with the olives, prunes, and a bit of the juices, then sprinkle with parsley.

Prunes!  I had never eaten any in my life (unless when I was too young to remember), and these weren't bad.  They were very sweet and added a nice flavor to the chicken.  If you don't want to eat them, fine, I'd still recommend using them in the recipe for the flavor.

I used sliced black olives instead of the green pitted olives, as when I was purchasing the ingredients for this, I just couldn't find pitted green olives that didn't have pimiento stuffed into them.

I served this with the multi-colored orzo, and we all loved it. Brian refused to eat the prunes, but said the flavor of the chicken was very tasty.