Rialto Restaurant & Bar

Spiced Cornish game hen with figs and orange

Serves 4-8, depending on what else is else is being served

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1 tablespoon paprika

4 1-pound Cornish game hens or baby chickens, rinsed and dried

Kosher salt

¼ cup vegetable oil

1 orange, washed well and cut into quarters

4 fresh bay leaves

12 peeled cipollini onions or shallots

12 cloves garlic, unpeeled

12 dried figs, split in half and steeped in ½ cup orange juice

2 tablespoons chopped mint

 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Mix the cinnamon, ginger, pepper, coriander, paprika in a large bowl. Set the birds on a cutting board and season the inside with salt and the spices. Add 3 tablespoons vegetable oil to the spice mix and mix with the remaining spices. Season the outside of the birds with salt. Roll them the spice mix until completely coated.

Put an orange quarter and a bay leaf in the cavity of each bird. Tie the legs together with butcher’s twine and flip the wing tips back.

Put the onions in the bowl the hens were in, add the remaining tablespoon of oil, season with salt and toss well. Arrange in the bottom of a roasting pan. Put a rack over the onions, arrange the hens, evenly spaced and breast-side down, on the rack. Roast 15 minutes. Remove the rack and add the garlic to the pan, tossing to coat with fat. Flip the birds to breast-side, brush with drippings. Return the rack to the pan, add 2 tablespoons water to help keep things from burning. Return the pan to the oven and roast 15 minutes. Lift the rack and add the figs, cut side down and roast an additional 5 minutes or until the skin of the birds has browned and they are cooked through.

Transfer the birds to a platter and remove the strings. Remove the oranges and bay leaves from the cavity and arrange the oranges on the platter with the birds. Discard the bay leaves. Transfer the vegetables and figs to a bowl, add the balsamic vinegar and chopped mint and toss gently. Spoon the onions, garlic and figs around the hens. Tell people to squeeze the orange over the bird.