Oven Roasted Cornish Game Hens

Our Culinary Team’s Oven Roasted Cornish Game Hens recipe is truly a magical pairing with our Davis Estates Chardonnay.

Ingredients

Serves 4

Cornish Game Hen

4 Cornish game hens
4 peeled garlic cloves
2 shallots, peeled and sliced thick
4 sprigs rosemary
1 lemon, quartered
1 ½ teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons whole grain mustard
¼ teaspoon dried chervil
¼ teaspoon dried parsley
¼ teaspoon dried chives
½ teaspoon dried tarragon
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
1 teaspoon fennel seeds, crushed
½ teaspoon black pepper
¾ teaspoons red chili flakes

Roasted Mashed Sweet Potatoes

2 pounds sweet potatoes
¼ cup butter
Pinch salt to taste
Optional a splash of maple syrup or brown sugar

Sautéed Swiss Chard

2 bunches Swiss chard, stems removed
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
Pinch crushed red pepper flakes
½ lemon
Salt

Method

Cornish Game Hen

  • Preheat oven to 350°.
  • Season the cavities of each game hen with ¼ teaspoon of salt. Place 1 clove garlic, a ¼ of a shallot, a rosemary sprig, and piece of lemon into each game hen cavity. Place game hens in a roasting pan.
  • In a bowl, combine mustards, dried herbs, paprika, fennel seeds, ½ teaspoon salt, pepper and chili flakes. Coat game hens generously with mixture.
  • Place in oven and roast for 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until a meat thermometer registers 165° in the thick part of hen. Remove from oven, tent with foil and allow to rest for 5 to 10 minutes.

Roasted Mashed Sweet Potatoes

  • Preheat oven to 350°.
  • Place sweet potatoes in oven and bake for 60 to 80 minutes until tender.
  • Remove from oven and cut in half. Scoop flesh into a bowl and add butter and pinch of salt. Smash using a fork or potato masher to desired consistency. If using add in maple syrup or brown sugar.

Sautéed Swiss Chard

  • Stack chard leaves on top of one another and slice them into ¼-inch strips.
  • Heat oil in a very large skillet. Add garlic and red pepper flakes and sauté for 30 seconds, until garlic is fragrant. Stir in the chard.
  • Cover pan and let cook for about 2 minutes, until chard is wilted. Uncover, stir and cook for 2 minutes longer. Season with salt and a squeeze of lemon juice.

To Finish

On each warm plate with a game hen, scoop of sweet potato and bunch of swiss chard. Sever with a chilled glass of Davis Estates Chardonnay.

Oven-roasted Cornish game hens meet their match with Davis Estates Chardonnay! Making this a cozy, crowd-pleasing combo you’ll want to savor to the last bite and sip.

Courtesy of the Davis Estates Culinary Team

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