Weight Loss Surgery Cookbook

Chapter 9: Umm... Tastes Like Chicken: Poultry Dishes 157

Herb-Roasted Cornish Game Hens

Although Cornish game hen may sound gourmet, it’s simply a young male or female

chicken, not a game bird. In the United States they were first used in the early 1950s and

have been a hit ever since. Because of their small size, each bird makes two perfect

servings.

Stage: Regular foods

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 45 minutes

Yield: 4 servings (^1 ⁄ 2 Cornish hen each)

2 Cornish hens

(^1) ⁄ 2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
2 sliced garlic cloves
2 teaspoons minced fresh rosemary
2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme
1 bay leaf
2 shallots, roughly chopped
11 ⁄ 2 carrots, roughly chopped into 1-inch pieces
11 ⁄ 2 stalks celery, roughly chopped into 1-inch
pieces
1 lemon
1 Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
2 Rinse the Cornish hens with cold water, remove giblets (if included), and pat dry.
Season with salt and pepper inside and out. Stuff the inside of the hens with garlic,
rosemary, thyme, and^1 ⁄ 2 bay leaf each.
3 Place the shallots, carrots, and celery on the bottom of a roasting pan and place the
hens on top of the vegetables. Squeeze juice from the lemon all over the hens.
4 Roast in the oven until the hens are golden brown and crisp and the juices run clear
when the thigh is pierced with a sharp knife, about 45 minutes. Transfer the hens to a
serving platter and let rest for about 5 minutes, and then remove the bay leaf before
serving.
Tip: The vegetables in this recipe are at the bottom of the pan to add flavor to the chicken.
If you want to eat them with the hen, be sure to cut up the celery and carrots into small
pieces so they don’t get stuck.
Per serving (including vegetables): Calories 160 (From Fat 35); Fat 4g (Saturated 1g); Cholesterol 110mg; Sodium
410mg; Carbohydrate 6g (Dietary Fiber 1g); Protein 25g; Sugar 2g.