Roasted Poussins With Green Wheat Stuffing Recipes

ROASTED POUSSINS WITH GREEN-WHEAT STUFFING

Steps:

• Make green-wheat stuffing:
• Soak wheat in a bowl of cold water, skimming off any debris that floats to the surface and changing water twice, 20 minutes total. Drain well in a sieve.
• Cook wheat, uncovered, in a 3- to 4-quart pot of salted boiling water , stirring and skimming occasionally, until just tender, 12 to 15 minutes; drain well in a sieve and transfer to a bowl.
• While wheat is boiling, cook onion in oil in a 10-inch heavy skillet over moderate heat, stirring frequently, until softened, about 7 minutes. Add coriander, ginger, cinnamon, salt, and pepper; cook, stirring, 1 minute more; stir into drained wheat with currants and pine nuts. Cool stuffing completely, about 20 minutes.
• Stuff and roast poussins:
• Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 450°F. Rinse poussins inside and out and pat dry. Cut out necks if attached and discard. Sprinkle salt and pepper inside and outside of birds, then stuff each body cavity with 1/2 cup stuffing. Spoon remaining stuffing into a small baking dish and cover with foil, then set aside. Tie legs together with string and arrange poussins, without crowding, on rack in pan. Brush melted butter generously over poussins, reserving remainder for basting.
• Roast poussins, basting occasionally, until deep golden, 30 to 35 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 375°F and roast until a thermometer inserted into a thigh (avoiding bone) registers 180°F, and into the stuffing, 165°F, about 10 to 20 minutes more. Transfer poussins to a platter, reserving pan, and loosely cover with foil. Reheat reserved stuffing in oven while making jus.
• Make jus:
• Remove rack from pan and tilt pan so fat and juices accumulate in one corner. Carefully spoon off almost all of fat. Straddle pan across 2 burners; add broth and water and deglaze pan by boiling over high heat, stirring and scraping up brown bits, 1 minute. Transfer to a 1- to 2-quart saucepan and simmer until reduced to about 1/2 cup, 3 minutes. Stir cornstarch mixture; stir into sauce and simmer 1 minute. Add lemon juice; season with salt and pepper to taste, then pour jus through a fine-mesh sieve into a gravy boat. Cut off string and serve poussins with jus and additional stuffing.
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ROAST POUSSIN/CORNISH HEN AND SWEET POTATOES

Steps:

• This is my almost regular as clockwork Saturday night supper. I find it enormously easy and relaxing to make since all I do is go downstairs, put everything in the oven, and then go back up to Saturday evening tv in bed until it's ready - and then, frankly, back again.
• If I cook the poussins/ Cornish hens in the same pan as the sweet potatoes, I cut a couple of slices of bread and put 1 underneath each bird in the tin, so as to absorb the juices and stop them from seeping into the sweet potatoes which, in turn, would prevent them from crisping and browning. But more often than not, I dispense with the bread (you can imagine how good it tastes later though) and just get 2 disposable foil roasting trays about the size of brownie tins each and put the poussins/ Cornish hens in one and the sweet potatoes in another and reuinite on the plate with a little watercress and a squirt of lime juice later. I must have English mustard with. I know it's a weakness, but not one I'm willing to renounce.
• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Put the birds into a small baking tin or foil tray pouring over 1 tablespoon of oil.
• Cut the unpeeled sweet potatoes into 2 1/2-inch cubes and put them into another smallish tin or foil tray.Pour over the other tablespoon of oil and sprinkle over the spices, and then toss everything together by shaking the tin.
• Cook both the poussins/hens and sweet potatoes in the preheated hot oven for 45 minutes.
• Put each poussin/Cornish hen on a plate, with a tangle of watercress and the sweet potatoes alongside. Sprinkle with Maldon/kosher salt, to taste, and spritz with lime juice and go to it!

ROASTED POUSSINS

Steps:

• In a small bowl, whisk oil, vinegar, and mustard until well combined. Whisk in garlic, chives, thyme, oregano, dry mustard, salt, and pepper; set aside. Rinse poussins well under cold water. Pat dry.
• Using kitchen shears, cut along either side of backbone; remove it. Turn over; gently flatten. Place marinade in a large resealable plastic bag; add poussins. Seal; turn bag to coat them with marinade. Refrigerate at least 2 hours or overnight.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Position a rack in center. Place a flat roasting rack in a shallow roasting pan or on a rimmed baking sheet. Coat rack with spray; set aside.
• Remove poussins from marinade, letting excess drip off; place on rack, breast side up. Tuck wing tips under body. Sprinkle with salt and pepper; roast until golden and cooked through, about 50 minutes. Cut each in half through breast; serve.

POUSSINS WITH APPLE STUFFING

Steps:

• Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a skillet, add pancetta and cook over medium heat until pancetta starts to color. Add shallots and celery and sauté until soft. Add panko, increase heat, and cook, stirring, until panko is golden. Add 1/2 cup stock. Remove from heat, stir in apple and sage and season with salt and pepper.
• Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Dry poussins inside and out. Stuff each with panko mixture and tie legs together to enclose stuffing. Rub birds with remaining olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
• Arrange celery stalks crosswise in a roasting pan large enough to hold poussins. Place poussins in pan on celery. Add 1 cup remaining stock to pan. Place in oven and roast 1 hour 15 minutes. Remove poussins from pan and remove trussing.
• Use back of a fork to press any juices from celery stalks, then remove celery from pan and discard. Add remaining cup stock, place pan over medium heat and stir to loosen particles in pan. Bring to a simmer. Strain sauce into a bowl and season with salt and pepper.
• Use a large, sharp knife to halve each poussin lengthwise. Arrange on a platter and serve with sauce alongside.

ROASTED POUSSINS WITH FENNEL

Steps:

• Stuff the chicken cavities with the reserved fennel ribs, chopped, and truss the chickens. In a large heavy skillet heat the butter and the oil over moderately high heat until the foam subsides and in the fat brown the chickens, patted dry and seasoned with salt and pepper, in batches, transferring them as they are browned to a flameproof roasting pan. Pour off all but 1 tablespoon of the fat and in the fat remaining in the skillet cook the sliced fennel over moderate heat, stirring, until it is golden and softened. Spoon the fennel around the chickens and add the wine and 1/2 cup of the water. Roast the chickens in the middle of a preheated 400°F. oven, basting them every 15 minutes and adding enough of the remaining 1/4 cup water as necessary to maintain about 1 cup pan juices, for 40 to 50 minutes, or until a meat thermometer inserted in the fleshy part of a thigh registers 180°F. and the juices run clear when the thigh is pierced with a skewer.
• Transfer the pan to the stove top. In a small saucepan heat the Pernod over moderately low heat until it is warm, ignite it, and pour it carefully over the chickens, letting the flames go out. Transfer the chickens to plates, and garnish each serving with a parsley sprig. Boil the pan juices until they are reduced to about 2/3 cup, season the gravy with salt and pepper, and transfer it to a gravy boat.

THYME-ROASTED POUSSIN

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 500 degrees.
• Rinse the poussins and season the cavities with salt and pepper. Rub each with 1/4 teaspoon olive oil. Fill each cavity with a lemon wedge, 2 sprigs each of thyme and marjoram, and 1 crushed garlic clove.
• Loosen the skin from the breast of each poussin. Slide a sprig each of thyme and marjoram between the skin and the breast. Spoon the Cognac (1/2 tablespoon per bird) into the breast pockets of each poussin. Truss with kitchen string.
• On a roasting rack set in a roasting pan, roast for 30 minutes, or until the juices run clear when the thigh is pierced with a fork.