Return to Christmas Dinner Recipes

 

Roasted Cornish Hens with Cherry Wine Sauce

5 star rating
 

Add a Photo

Submitted by: homefordinner

 

A rich sauce of red wine, cherries, and gingerroot turns ordinary Cornish hens into elegant holiday fare.
 

Ingredients

  • 3 Cornish hens, about 1 1/2 pounds each
  • 6 large garlic cloves, peeled
  • 1 lemon, cut into 6 pieces
  • Fresh whole sage leaves, or dried rubbed sage
  • Olive oil
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • Red Wine Cherry Sauce:
  • 1 cup dry red wine
  • 1 cup dried tart red cherries
  • 3 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 2 shallots, chopped
  • 1 tablespoon chopped gingerroot
  • 2 cups chicken stock
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1 teaspoon cracked black pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt

Save Recipe

Interact

 
Method

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Use fingers to gently loosen skin of birds from meat. Place a whole sage leaf under skin on each breast half, or rub in the dried sage. Stuff each hen with 2 cloves garlic, 2 lemon pieces and a little more sage. Rub olive oil all over skin. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place in a small, shallow roasting pan and roast, basting occasionally, about 50 minutes, or until the juices run clear when thigh is pierced with a fork. Remove from pan and let rest for 10 minutes. While hens roast, make sauce. In a non-aluminum 3 quart saucepan, heat wine, cherries, garlic, shallots and ginger to boiling over high heat until cherries soften and wine is reduced to 1/4 cup. Add chicken stock and boil until reduced by half, about 7 minutes. In a blender, blend sauce until smooth. Return sauce to pan and heat over medium heat. With wire whisk, stir in butter, pepper and salt. Keep warm over low heat.

 

Notes: After Thanksgiving, we are tired of the usual Turkey. This is a great Holiday Dinner entree for Christmas or New Year's. These are great served with long grain and wild rice.

 

Number of Servings: 6

 

Submitted by: homefordinner ()

Comment
 
 

Advertisement