Italian Country Side Roasted Cornish Hens

Italian Country Side Roasted Cornish Hens

April 5, 2017
Alice
Chicken, Meats & Fowl

Italian Country Side Roasted Cornish Hens

Italian Country Side Roasted Cornish Hens

Recipe By: Alice Morrow

Italian Country Side Roasted Cornish Hens

Ingredients

2-4 Cornish hens
4 slices of bacon
1 lemon
1 jar fig preserves, (prefer where the figs are whole), or favorite preserve, optional
2 whole carrots, cut into big pieces
2 celery stalks, cut into big pieces
2 large onions, quartered
2-3 parsnips, cut into big pieces
8-10 baby Yukon gold potatoes, cut in half or leave whole
10-12 fresh sprigs of rosemary
6 sprigs of fresh thyme
6 sprigs of fresh sage
Olive oil
Salt, red/black pepper/garlic powder
1 c. or enough to cover bottom of roasting pan of red or white wine or chicken broth
Paprika
Cornstarch or gravy thickener

Instructions

Defrost hens, rinse and pat dry. Season inside and outside of hen.
Take ¼ of lemon, large spoonful of preserves and 1 sprig of rosemary and place in cavity of hen. Set aside.
In roasting pan, place the carrots, celery, onions, parsnips, potatoes, thyme, sage and 4 of rosemary sprigs in the bottom of pan. Season and drizzle with olive oil.
Place hens, breast side down, on top of veggies and herbs.
Take each piece of bacon and cut in half and make an “X” on the top of the hen with the bacon. Place a sprig of rosemary between the bacon.
Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with paprika.
Pour the wine or broth in bottom of pan. You want enough to cover bottom of pan and come up about 1 inch.
Cover with foil and bake at 375 for 1 hour. Remove foil and turn heat up to 400 and cook another 20 minutes or until golden brown.
You can remove the birds to a serving platter and place all the veggies around it.
With the pan juices, you can thicken with cornstarch and add mushrooms and take sauce and pour over the hens and veggies.

Cornish Hens featured Italian Roasted

Alice