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Table setting with flowers and Roasted Cornish Hens with Mushrooms and a Riesling Sauce.

Roasted Cornish Hens with Mushrooms and a Riesling Sauce

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Tender Cornish hens roasted with shallots, mushrooms, and a luscious Riesling and crème fraîche sauce create a refined yet approachable dish. Perfect for an intimate dinner for four.
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Prep Time:15 minutes
Cook Time:1 hour
Total Time:1 hour 15 minutes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: French
Keyword: Cornish Hen, Riesling
Servings: 4 Servings
Calories: 650kcal
Author: Pascale Beale

Ingredients

  • 1 ounce butter
  • Olive oil
  • 8 Shallots, peeled and quartered
  • 2 Cornish hens, about 1½ ponds each
  • Salt and pepper
  • 6 ounces Riesling
  • ¾ pound crimini mushrooms, quartered
  • ¼ cup lemon juice
  • ½ cup crème fraîche

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 375°.
  • Put the butter and a little olive oil into a roasting pan that is large enough to hold the Cornish hens and the mushrooms. Place the pan on the stove top over medium-high heat, add in the shallots and cook until just golden. Remove the shallots from the pan. Add the Cornish hens to the same pan and sprinkle them with salt and pepper and cook on all sides until they are golden brown. This will take about 10–15 minutes in all.
  • Add the wine to the pan along with the shallots. Turn the hens once or twice in the wine and then place the roasting pan in the oven and cook for another 45–50 minutes.
  • While the hens are cooking, heat a little butter in a large frying pan placed over medium heat. Add the mushrooms in two batches, sautéing them until just golden brown. Add the lemon juice and remove from the heat, leaving the mushrooms in the pan.
  • Once the hens are cooked remove the roasting pan from the oven. Set the hens aside on a plate and keep warm. Place the roasting pan over high heat and reduce the cooking liquid by half, scraping up all the delicious bits at the bottom of the pan. Reduce the heat and stir in the crème fraîche and mushrooms and simmer until heated through.
  • Cut the Cornish hens in half and place each half on a warmed plate. Pour some of the Riesling sauce and mushrooms over the Cornish hens and serve at once.

Nutrition

Calories: 650kcal | Carbohydrates: 16g | Protein: 43g | Fat: 43g | Saturated Fat: 15g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 7g | Monounsaturated Fat: 17g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 259mg | Sodium: 203mg | Potassium: 1132mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 602IU | Vitamin C: 11mg | Calcium: 90mg | Iron: 3mg