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Prep and Cook time: 30 minutes
Makes: 4 servings
By splitting and roasting them in a very hot oven, you can have them ready to serve in just 30 minutes. To make the best use of your time, begin preheating the oven as soon as you step into the kitchen to start dinner preparations. Then quickly scrub and quarter the little red potatoes that cook alongside the hens. For dessert, drizzle amaretto liqueur over scoops of rich vanilla ice cream, then sprinkle with toasted sliced almonds.
Ingredients
2 Rock Cornish hens (1 to 1 1/4 lbs. each)
12 small red thin-skinned potatoes (each about 2-in. diameter), scrubbed
and quartered
1/4 cup dry white wine or apple juice
2 tablespoons Dijon Mustard
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon chopped fresh or 1 teaspoon dried thyme
Thyme sprigs
Salt and pepper
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 500°. Remove and reserve Cornish hen necks and
giblets for other uses. With poultry shears or a sharp knife, split each
hen in half, cutting along backbone and breastbone. Rinse hens and pat
dry.
2. Place hens, skin side up, in a shallow 10- by 15-inch baking pan;
scatter potatoes, cut side down, around hens. Bake in lower third of oven
for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, stir together wine, mustard,
honey, and chopped thyme.
3. Baste hens liberally with mustard mixture. Continue to bake, basting
liberally about every 5 minutes, until potatoes are tender when pierced
and meat near thighbone is no longer pink; cut to test (about 15 more
minutes).
4. To serve, place one hen half and a fourth of the potatoes on each of 4
individual plates; garnish with thyme sprigs. Season to taste with salt
and pepper.
Nutritional Information
Per serving: 448 cal., 40% (178 cal.) from fat; 27 g protein; 20 g fat (5.4 g sat.); 40 g carbo (2.9 g fiber); 264 mg sodium; 140 mg chol.
