Recipe: Cornish Hens with Apricot, Port and Balsamic Sauce

Recipe Source: Johnson, Margaret M.  The New Irish Table.  Chronicle Books, San Francisco, 2003 p. 74

On one recent soggy Sunday evening, I was preparing to make our Sunday dinner when the phone rang.  It was our close friends with a spontaneous urge for sushi.  Since nothing drives away the gloom of the soggiest weekend anyone can remember for a very long time like the company of good friends, we of course said yes.  There was a stipulation, though.  I'd planned meals for both Sunday and Monday.  In order to avoid food waste, they had to come over and eat our food on Monday, when I made the dishes for both Sunday and Monday.  They were more than happy to agree to this, since Monday was projected to make Sunday look downright dry.  This was the main course.

The funny thing about this recipe is that while it was the most complicated recipe I was making, and certainly the prettiest recipe I was making, it was easily the least impressive in terms of flavor.  The flavors in this dish are very, very mild.  I like big, bold flavors like those found in the Mediterranean.  As a result, I guess I was a little disappointed in the results.  However, the dish was certainly not bad and tasted just right on a nasty, rainy March day.  The only changes I made were to use turkey bacon instead of pork bacon and Lemony Vegetable Broth instead of chicken broth. 

Cornish Hens with Apricot, Port and Balsamic Sauce (Serves 4; approx. $4.30/serving)

2 Cornish hens, halved down the center

8 slices turkey bacon

4 cups Lemony Vegetable Broth

1/2 cup port

1 cup red wine

4 ounces dried unsulphured apricots, finely chopped

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

Kosher salt and black pepper to taste

Equipment:

• 2 saucepans
• Roasting pan

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
2. Put the hens in the roasting pan with the skin side up. 
3. Sprinkle the halves with pepper and cover with 2 slices of bacon each.
4. Bake 15 minutes. 
5. Reduce the oven temperature to 300 degrees and bake another 15 minutes.
6. Remove from the oven and discard the bacon.  Really.  (You can go ahead and eat the bacon if you want, or feed it to the dog.)
7. Meanwhile, bring the broth to a boil and simmer 10 - 15 minutes.  Reduce to about 1 cup.
8. In the second saucepan, combine the port and wine.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until reduced to about 1/2 cup. 
9. Pour the broth into the wine.  Add the apricots and vinegar.
10. Cook 8 - 10 minutes over low heat.  The sauce should be reduced by 1/3 and should be thickened.  Season with salt and pepper. 
11. Plate the hens on a serving platter.  Drizzle with the sauce, serving the remaining sauce on the side.
12. Serve. 

Comments

[Angie's Recipes]

This must have tasted fresh and delicious. If I could get cornish hens, I would probably cook some soup with them.

[tigerfish]

How I love Cornish Hen! So hard to get it over here.

[Fearless Kitchen]

Tigerfish - They're not always easy to find around here either, but they've become more available over the years.

Angie - mmm... game hen soup... what would you put in it?