Moroccan Style Balsamic Cornish Game Hens

Name: Moroccan Style Balsamic Cornish Game Hens
Prep time: 1 h
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 1 h 40 min
Yield: 2 serving(s)
Ingredients: 1 large orange, thinly sliced; 2 Cornish hens; 88.74 ml chopped fresh cilantro, divided; 8 garlic cloves, finely chopped; 7.39 ml cumin, divided; 236.59 ml tawny port; 236.59 ml sherry wine; 59.14 ml olive oil; 59.14 ml balsamic vinegar (balsamic preferred) or 59.14 ml red wine vinegar (balsamic preferred); 29.58 ml honey, to taste; 20 whole pitted dates (or more to taste); 10 large green pitted olives (or more to taste); salt & freshly ground black pepper, to taste; 4.92 ml butter, for sauce (optional)

Submitted by Julesong

"I’ve made this recipe often in the past, and while putting together my LJ recipe entry list (see http://www.julesong.com/cook/LJentry-recipes.htm ) I discovered it again! I adapted it to our tastes. It was one of our favorites, is perfect for romantic dinners, and it’s absolutely delicious! Although it's easy to make, it takes a bit of time but is worth every minute. In my Sunday, February 10th, 2002 LJ entry, and her original was posted by KC at Gail’s Recipe Swap. Thanks, KC! She said “I always add lots of extra olives and dates. They taste wonderful. I have even caught friends in the kitchen looking through the pan for more olives and dates.”"

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photo by kymgerberich

Ready In:: 1hr 40mins
Ingredients:: 14
Serves:: 2

ingredients

1 large orange, thinly sliced
2 Cornish hens
88.74 ml chopped fresh cilantro, divided
8 garlic cloves, finely chopped
7.39 ml cumin, divided
236.59 ml tawny port
236.59 ml sherry wine
59.14 ml olive oil
59.14 ml balsamic vinegar (balsamic preferred) or 59.14 ml red wine vinegar (balsamic preferred)
29.58 ml honey, to taste
20 whole pitted dates (or more to taste)
10 large green pitted olives (or more to taste)
salt & freshly ground black pepper, to taste
4.92 ml butter, for sauce (optional)

directions

Rinse the game hens under running water. Pat dry and cut them in half lengthwise (kitchen scissors work fine).
Arrange orange slices in bottom of a 9x13" glass baking dish. Top with game hens.
Mix 4 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped garlic and 1 1/4 teaspoons cumin in bowl. Rub mixture all over hens. Wash your hands well with soap and hot water.
Whisk together port, sherry, oil, vinegar, and honey in small bowl. Taste it to see if the mixture is to your taste, then if it is, pour over hens. (There is quite a difference between the taste of balsamic vinegar – which is sweet – and red wine vinegar, so if you use wine vinegar you’ll definitely want to taste the mixture and adjust the amount of honey to your preference before pouring it over the hens.).
Tuck dates and olives between hens and season with salt and pepper.
Cover and refrigerate at least 12 hours or overnight, turning hens once. (I’ve made this recipe beginning in the morning and marinated it 6-8 hrs during the day, too, and it was still delicious.).
Remove hens from refrigerator and place on counter, covered, for at least 30 minutes. (You don’t want to put a chilled baking dish straight into a preheated oven.) Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Turn the hens skin side up, then bake hens with marinade, dates and olives until hens are cooked through, basting occasionally, about 40 minutes.
Transfer hens, dates and olives to serving platter. Discard orange slices. Pour the pan juices into a heavy small saucepan.
Add remaining 1/4 teaspoon cumin and 1 tsp butter and simmer until reduced to about half, whisking frequently, about 5 minutes.
Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Spoon some sauce over hens. Sprinkle with remaining 2 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro.
Serve, passing remaining sauce separately in a gravy or sauce bowl.
Note: when I first made this recipe, I didn't have fresh cilantro on hand, and couldn't even find dried in our herb stash, which surprised me. Mike collects herbs and spices, and we have a huge collection in the pantry. (I call him Condiment Man.) I had a bunch of a nice Italian dried herb mix (basil, oregano, marjoram, thyme, rosemary, savory, sage), so used that instead. I know it's not really an equivalent to cilantro, but it smelled wonderful anyhow and it tasted great, too. I also add lots more green olives and dates, which the recipe reflects :)
Note #2: if you want/need to serve more than two people, you can use the above marinade for up to 6 hens, then you’ll need to begin adding more ingredients.

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Reviews

This was wonderful. I haven't liked cilantro before but this didn't taste soapy at all. All the flavors complimented each other and were wonderful. Thank you.

kymgerberich
Made this - it was lovely in both taste and looks!! Got great reviews from guests. Noone could guess the base for the sauce (the sherry and port). Thanks for sharing a different recipe!

Lakme
This is one of my favorite special dinners we make together. I love the combination of olives and dates. Delicious!

Steingrim

Tweaks

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kymgerberich

RECIPE SUBMITTED BY

Julesong

Tukwila, 87

It's simply this: I love to cook! :) I've been hanging out on the internet since the early days and have collected loads of recipes. I've tried to keep the best of them (and often the more unusual) and look forward to sharing them with you, here. I am proud to say that I have several family members who are also on RecipeZaar! My husband, here as <a href=http://www.recipezaar.com/member/39857>Steingrim</a>, is an excellent cook. He rarely uses recipes, though, so often after he's made dinner I sit down at the computer and talk him through how he made the dishes so that I can get it down on paper. Some of these recipes are in his account, some of them in mine - he rarely uses his account, though, so we'll probably usually post them to mine in the future. My sister <a href=http://www.recipezaar.com/member/65957>Cathy is here as cxstitcher</a> and <a href=http://www.recipezaar.com/member/62727>my mom is Juliesmom</a> - say hi to them, eh? Our <a href=http://www.recipezaar.com/member/379862>friend Darrell is here as Uncle Dobo</a>, too! I've been typing in his recipes for him and entering them on R'Zaar. We're hoping that his sisters will soon show up with their own accounts, as well. :) I collect cookbooks (to slow myself down I've limited myself to purchasing them at thrift stores, although I occasionally buy an especially good one at full price), and - yes, I admit it - I love FoodTV. My favorite chefs on the Food Network are Alton Brown, Rachel Ray, Mario Batali, and Giada De Laurentiis. I'm not fond over fakey, over-enthusiastic performance chefs... Emeril drives me up the wall. I appreciate honesty. Of non-celebrity chefs, I've gotta say that that the greatest influences on my cooking have been my mother, Julia Child, and my cooking instructor Chef Gabriel Claycamp at Seattle's Culinary Communion. In the last couple of years I've been typing up all the recipes my grandparents and my mother collected over the years, and am posting them here. Some of them are quite nostalgic and are higher in fat and processed ingredients than recipes I normally collect, but it's really neat to see the different kinds of foods they were interested in... to see them either typewritten oh-so-carefully by my grandfather, in my grandmother's spidery handwriting, or - in some cases - written by my mother years ago in fountain pen ink. It's like time travel. Cooking peeve: food/cooking snobbery. Regarding my black and white icon (which may or may not be the one I'm currently using): it the sea-dragon tattoo that is on the inside of my right ankle. It's also my personal logo.

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