North african cornish hens

4 Servings

Ingredients

Quantity Ingredient
4 Cornish game hens
2 Lemons -- halved
1 Orange -- quartered
5 Cloves garlic -- crushed
1½ teaspoon Kosher salt
2 tablespoons Paprika, preferably hot
Hungarian
2 teaspoons Cumin seed
1 teaspoon Ground ginger
¼ teaspoon Cayenne pepper -- optional
¼ cup Olive oil

Directions

This recipe is from the wonderful book, KWANZAA: An African-American Celebration of Culture and Cooking by Eric V. Copage.

Cooks' Notes: These Cornish hens are rubbed with a streamlined version of the Moroccan spice mixture ras al hanout, marinated, and roasted with lemons and oranges. (Don't serve the fruit with the chicken - they are there only for flavoring's sake.) Using a sharp knife or a cleaver, split each hen down its back and open it up flat, like a book. Arrange the hens, skin side up, on two large roasting pans. Squeeze the lemons and oranges over the hens, and then place the squeeed lemon and orange pieces underneath the hens.

On a work surface, sprinkle the garlic with the salt. Using a large knife, chop and smear them together to form a paste. Scrape the garlic paste into a small bowl, and stir in the paprika, cumin, ginger, and optional cayenne.

Gradually stir in the oil to make a paste. Spread the paste on the hen's skin, and let them stand at room temperature, covered, for 1 hour before roasting.

Position a rack in the top third of the oven, and preheat to 400 degrees.

Roast the hens, basting often with the drippings, until the juices run yellow when the flesh is pierced with a fork, 50 to 60 minutes. Serve immediately, discarding the cooked fruits.

Uploaded by Nan Blanchard; 73540,700 mrarchway@...

Recipe By : KWANZAA: An African-American Celebration of Culture and Cook

From: Dscollin@... Date: Wed, 25 Jan 1995 20:56:21 -0500 File

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