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stuffed hens

Glazed Cornish Hens with Vegetable Stuffing

Servings

6 Servings

Ingredients

  • 6 x 1 1/4 lbs Cornish hens
  • 3 tablespoon olive oil -- plus more for drizzling over the hens
  • 1 small yellow onion -- peeled and finely chopped 5 oz.
  • 2 small carrots -- peeled and shredded 4 oz.
  • 1 large celery rib -- finely chopped
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon salt -- plus more for seasoning the hens
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper -- plus more for seasoning the hens
  • 1 medium zucchini -- trimmed and shredded 8 oz.
  • 1 small sweet potato yam -- peeled and shredded (8 oz.)
  • 1 small baking potato -- peeled and shredded 11 oz.
  • 2 large garlic cloves -- crushed
  • 1 tablespoon fresh ginger -- finely minced
  • 2 garlic cloves -- crushed
  • 9 tablespoon apricot jam
  • 3 tablespoon honey

Instructions

  • Clean the Cornish hens well, rinse inside and out and pat dry. Season the insides with salt and pepper, place in a roasting pan and refrigerate until ready to stuff.
  • For the stuffing, heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, carrot, celery, salt and pepper and sweat for 5 minutes. Add the zucchini, sweet potato, baking potato and garlic and cook, stirring, for another 15-20 minutes, until all of the vegetables have softened.
  • Remove from heat, transfer to a bowl and cool completely. Once cool, you can start stuffing the hens.
  • Preheat your oven to 400° F. Divide the stuffing among the hens, stuffing each cavity with about 1/2 a cup of stuffing. You can use string to tie the legs together, but it's not necessary. Once they're all stuffed, drizzle a little olive oil over each of them and rub the oil over them. Season with salt and pepper.
  • Roast for 40 minutes.
  • While the hens are roasting, mix all of the glaze ingredients together in a small bowl. After 40 minutes, brush each hen generously with the glaze. Roast another 10 minutes, then glaze again and roast another 10 minutes.
  • Stick the point of a knife into the leg joint -- if the juices run clear, the hens are done. Let them rest for 5 minutes, then serve. If they need a little more cooking, baste with the juices then roast another 5-10 minutes, until the juices run clear.