Cornish Game Hens Canzanese

I'm trying this when I get the chicken.

I made the baked pasta several posts ago twice and it was great.

The orzo pasta (last post) became part of a dish later when i had a hankering for jambalaya after work. Olive oil with onion, green pepper, garlic, celery, fresh tomatoe. creole seasoning. halved and sliced chicken sundried tomato sausage, white wine, pasta. add peeled shrimp. lots of lemon. some hot sauce. this was good.

2008: Cornish Game Hens Canzanese

By Zak Pelaccio, chef and owner of Fatty Crab

For the hens:

2 Cornish hens (1 ¾ pounds each), quartered

Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

¼ pound thinly sliced lardo, pancetta or prosciutto, diced

5 cloves garlic, lightly crushed

3 sprigs rosemary

3 dried red chilis, broken

1 cup white wine

½ stick butter, cubed and kept cold

For the salad:

1 ½ ounces thinly sliced prosciutto di Parma, cut into thin strips

½ pound arugula

1/3 cup fresh currants

Extra-virgin olive oil

Fleur de sel.

Season the hens with salt and pepper. Spead the lardo in the base of a large skillet set over medium heat. Add 2 of the garlic cloves, and cook, rendering the fat, until the lardo just begins to brown. Discard the garlic.

Increase heat to medium-high and add the hens, skin side down. Cook until skin is golden. Add 2 of the rosemary sprigs, the chilies and the remaining garlic. Turn the hens and add ¾ cup of wine. Cover, lower the heat to medium-low and simmer for 6 minutes. Remove the breast pieces and let the legs simmer for another 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the salad: combine the prosciutto, arugula and currants in a bowl. Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon olive oil and toss to mix. Season with fleur de sel, and add more olive oil, if needed.

Remove the lid from the skillet and discard the rosemary. Return the breasts, skin side up to the skillet and pour in the remaining wine. Boil down the juices and baste the hen parts for 1 minute. Pull the pan off the heat, add the butter and swirl to incorporate it.

To serve, sprinkle the hens with rosemary leaves from the remaining sprig, spoon over a little sauce and accompany each piece with some salad. Serves 4.