Shabbat Dinner: Chicken Marbella, Brisket, and Fish Stew

To this day, the best food I've ever eaten has always been from my mom, especially on Friday night, or Shabbat dinner. My fondest memories of my childhood involve watching my mom as she poured her heart and soul into preparing an elaborate, decadent and delicious meal for her children, family and friends to enjoy. Since moving away to college and still to this day, there is nothing better than flying home just intime for Shabbat dinner and enjoying yet another state of blissful nirvana filled with psychedelic aromas and creative ingredients. A few weeks ago I came home to visit my sister who had just moved back to San Francisco, and had the good fortune of enjoying what may go down in the record books as the best Shabbat dinner in the Berguig household.

On top of eating this feast with my family and friends, my mom had prepared three separate unique dishes, one no better than the other.  The first was poulet (chicken) Marbella, a Spanish and North African dish prepared in the oven with olives, prunes, and dark chicken. This is one of my favorite chicken dishes because of its sweet simplicity and mouth watering flavors. The chicken is always cooked to perfection in the oven, and smothered with olives and prunes which give the dish the tangy sweet aromas. The combination of juices from the prunes, olives, and chicken are so good, you could drink them directly with a spoon. Otherwise, a healthy serving of rice can be used to absorb every ounce, then inhaled in several bites.

The second amazing dish from this ensemble was my mom's brisket. Coming from a sephardic background, brisket was completely unknown to me. After my sister's mother-in-law introduced this dish one friday night, it became a huge hit at home, and frequently made by my mom and my sister. This brisket however, was special. The meat was very tender eventhough it had been cooking for several hours. To line the dish and add to the marinade, my mom decorated the meat with mushrooms. The mushrooms were cooked in the juices of the brisket and complemented every bite of meat. When cutting the meat, a knife was unnecessary. The meat shredded easily with every bite, making for a very memorable experience.

The third dish of the evening was an incredible fish stew; saffron-tomato sauce filled with salmon, halibut and seabass, onions and peas. The fish were cut into large cubes to absorb and enjoy every bite. The whole dish was made in a large, 3-inch high pan on the stove and slow cooked for several hours. With a spoon of basmati rice, the fish and rice were a delicious combination. To add to the rice, one of the finest treats in a Persian-inspired meal is the crispy, crunchy, and savory potatoes made at the bottom of the rice, called tahdeeg. Sliced potatoes are drowned in a bath of oil and saffron at the botom of the rice while cooking. When the rice is complete, the end result is the highly sought after, crisp tahdeeg.

Coming from a French background, we always finish off the meal with a light salad. This classic salad is made  with arugula, endives, onions, pomegranate seeds and a light raspberry vinaigrette. This simplistic, tangy-sweet, cool down salad is the perfect encore to a large meal, leaving your tastebuds feeling clean and refreshed. The only problem with this salad is that if you take to long to eat the other dishes, someone may finish it before you have a bite. That's why I usually store some on my plate, as a method of insurance. If you're sold on any of these dishes, feel free to email or comment and I'd be happy to send you the recipes. Have a lovely week.




Modified 8.6.2011
I've had a lot of requests so here are some of the recipes

Poulet Marbella:

1. Sautee 2 chopped onions with oil in a large pan until glazed
2. Add 3 lbs of skinless boneless chicken thigh and saute, then add enough chicken broth to cover chicken
3. When chicken is half cooked, add prunes (half a pack from Trader Joes), capers, small pitted green olives (Spanish are good), 4 bay leaves and saffron.
4. Then transfer to a pan and put in oven, covered with aluminum foil. Make sure you add more chicken broth to cover everything and cook for about 2-3 hours at 325 deg.

Brisket:

1. In an oven pan, lay brisket with fat side up (about 4 lbs).
2. Peel russet potatoes and carrots and cut in half about an inch and a half thick. Use about 4 potatoes and 4 carrots or also add sweet potatoes and place around the brisket in pan.
3. Slice 1 large yellow onion and put on top of brisket.
4. Sprinkle one packet of Lipton French onion soup mix.
5. Add a bottle of Heinz chili sauce, then fill it with water and add that as well.
6. Add one can of beer, whichever you have in the fridge.
7. Sprinkle 2 teaspoons of brown sugar on top and add black pepper.
8. Cover and put in oven at 325 deg for about 6 hours total. My mom usually cooks the night before for about 3-4 hours and then refrigerates. The next day she will slice the brisket, put it back in the pan and in the oven for another 2-3 hours. Just make sure there is always enough liquid.