Cornish hens with apricots, tomatoes and spices
12 Servings
Ingredients
| Quantity | Ingredient | |
|---|---|---|
| 12 | tablespoons | Chicken fat |
| 6 | Cornish game hens, halved | |
| Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste | ||
| 4 | teaspoons | Cinnamon |
| 4 | cups | Chopped onion |
| 1 | teaspoon | Cloves |
| 3 | cups | Canned plum tomatoes, diced, with juices reserved |
| 3½ | cup | Dried apricots, soaked in hot water for 1 hr and drained |
| 2 | cups | Chicken stock |
| ⅓ | cup | Brown sugar |
Directions
Heat 6 tbsp fat in a large saucepan. Sprinkle the hens with salt, pepper and 1 tsp cinnamon, then brown well. In another saucepan, heat remaining chicken fat, add the onions and cook over low heat 5 min or until onions are transparent. Add remaining 3 tsp cinnamon and the cloves and cook 3 more min stirring occasionally. Add about ½ c of the reserved tomato juices. Puree half the soaked aprico ts in a food processor or blender, and coarsely chop the rest. Add the pureed apricots, the diced tomatoes and 1 c chicken stock to the onion mixture. Simmer, uncovered, 5 min. Puree 2 c of the onion mixture. Return to the pan, add the remaining apricots, brown sugar and remaining chicken stock. Add enough additional liquid to thin the sauce out to a medium thickness. Place half the sauce in the bottom of a large casserole. Add the hens and cover with the remaining sauce. Bake, covered, in a 350F oven until done, 30-40 minutes.
NOTES : From _The Jewish Holiday Kitchen_ by Joan Nathan. Schocken Books, New York: 1988.
Recipe by: Joyce Goldstein (Square One, SF) Posted to MC-Recipe Digest V1 #547 by "Master Harper Gaellon" <gaellon@...> on Apr 3, 1997