Oven Roasted Cornish Hen On A Bed of Vegetables

Oven roasted on a bed of vegetables, these tender and juicy little birds pack quite a punch for their petite size.
Simple to make, this is one dish that both you and your guests will agree is not just delicious but also arguably fancy! Serve it with our Simple Saffron Rice, or make one of  these birds for each person in lieu of a large Thanksgiving turkey, and you can be sure that your guests will be left raving about this recipe for a long time!

For this post we’re making a meal for two and we’ll start off with two Cornish hens that have been cleaned, washed, and patted dry. Along with our birds we have light olive oil, butter, and a spice blend of salt, black pepper, dried oregano, smoked paprika, garlic powder, and dried rosemary.
On our plate we have an assortment of herbs and vegetables that we’ll be using to stuff into the cavity of our bird including carrots, celery, fresh lemon slices, fresh parsley and sprigs of fine thyme.
And finally, on our tray we have our vegetables, which can be any vegetable of your preference. Today I’m using sliced bell peppers, celery, onions, garlic, baby carrots, frozen sweet peas and cubed potatoes. And, though not pictured, we’ll be using some chicken stock or broth to intermittently pour into our baking tray to create both steam and flavor and keep our birds and vegetables tender and prevent them from drying out.

Using a simple blend of salt and pepper and a splash of light olive oil, we’ll toss our vegetables in the seasoning.

Next we’ll ensure that our birds are dry before we rub some oil all over them and slide some chunks of butter beneath the skin.

With our birds oiled and buttered, we’ll mix our seasoning blend together…

…And cover the outside and the internal cavity with a generous amount of our rub. We want the flavor of our herbs and spices to seep into the meat of our hens from all angles so don’t skip the inside!

Next, we’ll stuff the cavity with an assortment of herbs and vegetables including celery, fine thyme, parsley, carrots, and fresh lemon wedges.

With our birds stuffed and seasoned, it’s time to truss our Cornish hens up. I didn’t have any oven-grade ties on hand so I simply used a piece of aluminum foil that I folded over multiple times into a 2cm wide strip, and, as you can see in the above image, it works just as well to bind the legs together.

Onto our tray of vegetables our birds will go. Do be sure to tuck the wing tips into the “armpit” of the legs to keep them from burning when we cook our bird. Also, be sure to push your vegetables up around your birds, leaving a clear border around your tray. This is done for two reasons. 1. it keeps the vegetables from cooking too quickly since the Cornish hens will take some time to cook. 2. when we pour our stock in, the salts from it will burn and create a bit of a charred border which, despite adding a ton of flavor, isn’t what you want on your food.

After baking, (and occasionally adding some of our stock to the tray) our birds and vegetables are done. Tender, juicy, and perfectly seasoned with a golden brown skin , they are simply exquisite.

Enjoy them with just their vegetables, or on a bed of golden Saffron Rice, however you choose to enjoy them, these little birds will surely capture your heart and your stomach!