I haven't had Cornish game hens in years- probably since I still lived at home and my mom made them, but I had a sudden craving and snatched a couple when I found them at the local grocery store. Then I noticed parsnips and remembered a delicious roasted vegetable recipe I got from Aly years ago that is perfect for a fall dinner and would complement my hens well. And so, wala- pin together post!
The recipe for the hens can be found here, and is really simple and delicious. I rinsed the birds, patted them dry, rubbed with olive oil, salted and peppered them all over and put a quarter of a lemon and a couple fresh sprigs of rosemary into the cavity. Yes that was a run-on sentence but it goes to show how fast and easy it is!
The recipe then says to put the birds in a roasting pan and surround with garlic cloves. But my handsome and hungry hubby suggested placing them right on top of the veggies I was preparing to cook. I was hesitant but agreed and boy, am I glad I did! Delicious one dish supper! But first, here is the veggie recipe.
As always, I took the original recipe and tweaked it according to what I could find. The original calls for onions, parsnips, butternut squash, celery root, baby carrots, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, pomegranate juice, thyme and salt. I used regular celery and cranberry juice instead of celery root and pomegranate. Chop it all up into 1/2-1" pieces, toss with the oil, juice, thyme (dried or fresh) and salt, and lay onto a cooking sheet or roasting pan. Roast at 425 for 45 minutes, stirring several times.
Since I combined the two recipes, I followed the cooking directions for the hens- 425 for 25 minutes then 350 for another 30. The last 10 minutes I basted the birds a couple times. I served it with garlic French toast to complete the cozy autumn meal.
My judge gave it a 5! And bonus, we have leftovers :)
From my hen to yours,
Jodye