Serves 4
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour
Many holiday meals often center around turkey, but Cornish hens are equally dramatic and a great option to consider if you’re serving a smaller crowd. Their smaller size also means they need to go in the oven only about 1 hour prior to serving, compared with a large turkey, which may require 4 to 5 hours to cook. Leave the skin on while baking to keep the poultry moist and flavorful. Then, remove before carving and serving.
Ingredients
3 lemons, divided
2 sprigs rosemary, halved
2 (1¼ to 1½ lb) Cornish hens
1 ½ Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp chopped fresh rosemary
1 Tbsp minced garlic
½ tsp kosher salt, divided
½ tsp pepper, divided
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
2. Cut two lemons into ½-inch-thick slices. Place lemon slices in the bottom of an 11x7-inch baking dish, and top with rosemary spring halves. Place hens, breast side up, on top of lemons and rosemary.
3. In a small bowl, grate remaining lemon to get ½ tsp zest, and squeeze to get 2 tsp juice. Add oil, rosemary, garlic, and 1/4 tsp each of salt and pepper. Rub oil mixture over hens and under skin. Sprinkle top of hens with remaining 1/4 tsp salt and pepper.
4. Bake hens at 450 degrees for 45 minutes or until a thermometer inserted into the thickest portion of the thigh reads 165 degrees. Let stand 10 minutes. Remove skin from hens before cutting.
NUTRITION FACTS (per ½ cooked hen): Calories 200; Total Fat 10g (Saturated Fat 2g); Cholesterol 120mg; Sodium 250mg; Total Carbs 1g (Dietary Fiber 0g, Total Sugars 0g, Added Sugars 0g); Protein 27g.
CAROLYN WILLIAMS, PHD, RD
Rally Health
