Spatchcocked Cornish Hen with Baby Leaf Salad and Sourdough Croutons

Name: Spatchcocked Cornish Hen with Baby Leaf Salad and Sourdough Croutons
Prep time: 1 h 45 min
Cook time: 1 h 45 min
Total time: 1 h 45 min
Yield: 2
Cuisine: Global
Ingredients: 1 Cornish hen; 1 teaspoons Dijon mustard; 3 sprigs fresh thyme, plus more for garnish; 4 garlic cloves, unpeeled; 1 Tbsp golden raisons; 1 teaspoons kosher salt; 2 Tbsps regular olive oil; 3 Tbsps cold-pressed canola oil or good extra-virgin olive oil; 1 teaspoons paprika; 1 Tbsp pine nuts; 1 slice to 2 thick slices sourdough bread; 2 Tbsps dry white vermouth or white wine; 1 Tbsp muscatel vinegar; 1 liters ounces (about watercress, spinach, and arugula salad or other feisty leaves

Spatchcocked Cornish Hen with Baby Leaf Salad and Sourdough Croutons might be just the main course you are searching for. This recipe covers 36% of your daily requirements of vitamins and minerals. This recipe serves 2. One portion of this dish contains approximately 46g of protein, 71g of fat, and a total of 926 calories. Head to the store and pick up cornish hen, regular olive oil, thyme, and a few other things to make it today. To use up the olive oil you could follow this main course with the Sauteed Banana, Granolan and Yogurt Parfait as a dessert. It is a good option if you're following a dairy free diet. From preparation to the plate, this recipe takes around 1 hour and 45 minutes.

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and leave the bread slices out on the wire rack to dry a little.

Ingredients you will need

Bread

Equipment you will use

Wire Rack

Oven

To spatchcock the Cornish hen, get some strong, sharp scissors (or poultry shears) and cut down either side of the spine, take out the spine, then press down on the breast to open it out flat.

Ingredients you will need

Cornish Hens

Poultry

Equipment you will use

Poultry Shears

Kitchen Scissors

Cut the Cornish hen in half. Put it into a small roasting pan; you can toss in the spine to give extra flavor for the dressing later.

Ingredients you will need

Cornish Hens

Equipment you will use

Roasting Pan

Drizzle the hen with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil, sprinkle with paprika and thyme sprigs, and throw in the unpeeled garlic cloves. Roast until the Cornish hen is reddish-gold on top, and cooked through, about 30 to 40 minutes.

Ingredients you will need

Whole Garlic Cloves

Fresh Thyme

Cornish Hens

Olive Oil

Paprika

Meanwhile, put the golden raisins into a small saucepan with the vermouth or white wine. Bring to a bubble over low heat on the stove top.

Ingredients you will need

Golden Raisins

White Wine

Vermouth

Equipment you will use

Stove

Sauce Pan

Remove the pan from the heat, and leave for about 10 minutes or, better still, leave it to cool while the Cornish hen is roasting.

Ingredients you will need

Cornish Hens

Equipment you will use

Frying Pan

Toast the pine nuts in a hot, dry frying pan over low heat until golden.

Ingredients you will need

Pine Nuts

Toast

Equipment you will use

Frying Pan

Remove the pine nuts from the pan to a small bowl. Slice the crusts from the bread and cut into croutons.

Ingredients you will need

Pine Nuts

Croutons

Bread

Equipment you will use

Bowl

Frying Pan

Heat the remaining tablespoon of olive oil in the frying pan and fry the croutons until golden and crisp.

Ingredients you will need

Olive Oil

Croutons

Equipment you will use

Frying Pan

Remove to a plate.

Once the bird is cooked, take the pan out of the oven and let stand for 5 to 10 minutes. Discard the spine and thyme sprigs. Arrange the salad leaves on a couple of plates.

Ingredients you will need

Fresh Thyme

Equipment you will use

Oven

Frying Pan

Whisk together the Dijon mustard, salt, vinegar, and 3 tablespoons of the cold-pressed canola or extra-virgin olive oil in a bowl.

Ingredients you will need

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Dijon Mustard

Vinegar

Salt

Equipment you will use

Whisk

Bowl

Remove the Cornish hen and garlic cloves to a board, add the juices from the roasting pan to the dressing, and whisk again. If you want to get every last bit of pan-flavor out, add a little hot water from a recently boiled kettle and swirl it around the pan

Ingredients you will need

Whole Garlic Cloves

Cornish Hens

Water

Equipment you will use

Roasting Pan

Whisk

Add this liquid to the dressing, then whisk in the soused golden raisins.

Ingredients you will need

Golden Raisins

Equipment you will use

Whisk

Set each half of Cornish hen on top of the salad on the plates and add 2 garlic cloves (provided they don't look too burned, though scorched and caramelly is good). Give the dressing a final whisk and pour it over the hen and the salad.

Ingredients you will need

Whole Garlic Cloves

Cornish Hens

Equipment you will use

Whisk

Sprinkle with toasted pine nuts, croutons, and a few fresh sprigs of thyme.

Ingredients you will need

Pine Nuts

Croutons

Thyme