Sweet Honey and Parsley Cornish Game Hens
This fantastic recipe is a special treat for Hanukkah or any time of the year when you want something a little different from the regular roast chicken. You can now get a hold of Cornish game hens quite easily in many super markets or from your local butcher. Try to buy fresh ones if possible, but if all you find is frozen don't worry, they will work well too. Simply defrost them before using as you would a chicken or any other poultry bird.
This recipe calls for raisins, which many ICers seem to be able to eat (look for sulphur-free brands), if however you cannot tolerate them, simply leave them out and perhaps add a bit more honey to increase the sweetness of the finished dish.
Bulb (globe) onions are also called for here, they are cooked, but if you know that you'll still run into trouble, just use green onions (scallions) or even chopped chives instead (both actually lend a beautiful flavour to the birds, and are a good alternative even if you can eat onions). You could add any spices and herbs that you like here too.
For this recipe you will need a large roasting tin (pan) – preferably a metal one that can hold four small birds (if it will normally do a medium sized turkey, the pan will be more than large enough to accommodate four small game hens. This recipe will feed four people if you use the game hens as the main dish, or you could serve half a bird per person if you were making lots of other filling dishes. As well you can multiple this recipe and cook the birds in batches, keeping the others on a warm platter and/ or briefly reheating for five minutes before serving. Any leftover game hen tastes amazing shredded and used in a salad with baby leaves and a drizzle of the pan juices or honey the next day for lunch.
Sweet Honey and Parsley Cornish Game Hens
4 x 1 lb (or thereabouts) Cornish game hens
1 tbsp vegetable or olive oil
1 cup peeled and finely chopped onions or shallots
¼ cup chopped parsley (omit if you have vulvodynia and are sensitive to oxalates) and a few sprigs to garnish with
1 cup un-sulfured (organic if possible) raisins (or golden raisins or dried currants)
1 cup of liquid honey (preferably organic)
1 tsp freshly cracked black pepper (optional)
2 ¼ tsp cinnamon
A few saffron threads or ½ tsp powdered saffron
Kosher salt to taste
Preheat your oven to 375°F.
In a large frying pan over medium heat, add the oil and the sliced onions. Saute until lightly golden (but not browned) – about 5 minutes – and add in the parsley. Gently add the raisins and all the spices, stirring frequently. Continue cooking for a couple of minutes and then removed the mixture from the heat.
Next rinse off and dry the Cornish game hens and rub them both inside and outside with the spice and onion mixture.
Align your birds on the rack and place in the roasting tin (pan), and cook for 30 minutes. Then take the pan from the oven and add enough water to the bottom of the tin that it reaches a level of ½ an inch or so. As well spread an even layer of liquid honey over all four of the birds and return the roasting pan and game hens to the oven.
Reduce the oven's heat to 350°F. Roast for about 15 more minutes, or until the hens have turned a lovely golden brown shade and their juices run clear to golden yellow colured with they are pricked with a skewer in the thick part of the breast.
Remove from the oven and allow the game hens to rest on the rack in the pan for 5 minutes before transferring them to a large serving platter or individual plates, garnish the plate with extra sprigs of parsley. Season the pan juices to taste and drizzle them over the hens before serving.
Serves 4 as a main course or 8 as a starter