Directions
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.
Ingredients
- 2 poussins/Cornish hens
- 2 tablespoons garlic or wok oil, divided
- 1 sweet potato weighing approximately 1 pound
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 to 2 bunches watercress
- Maldon or kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Good squirt lime juice
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!
Photo: Roast Poussin/Cornish Hen and Sweet Potatoes Recipe
















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By jlhp
on May 09, 2012
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Delicious recipe. Easy preparation. Perfect combination of flavors. Well complimented by a good pino gregio. In response to other reviews I did season the cavity of the birds with montreal seasoning as well as liberal amounts of sea salt and fresh cracked pepper on the skin. I used the cinnamon and cumin on the birds as well as the sweet potatoes, cooking the potatoes on an individual tray as I don't like to co-mingle vegetables with poultry fats. Greens with limes juice rounded out the meal well. A+ from all my tasters~ will put in rotation. Note~ another long time Nigella favorite are her salmon patties with peas. Great when leftover mashed potatoes are on hand.
By little babs
Bucks County, PA
on December 25, 2010
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This was a very vague recipe. We used 1 lb Poussins from D'Artagnon. The 45 minutes was not nearly enough time (and we are usually rare meat eaters, except, of course, with chickens. There was not nearly enough flavor and what's with not seasoning the fowl in advance? We can see why Nigella doesn't have a date on Saturday night. It's our first recipe from her shows and will probably be our last.
By mlphipps_3@msn.com
Aurora, 44
on December 13, 2009
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This was my Thanksgiving dinner and it did not disappoint! I even enjoyed the watercress, which i thought would be unnecessary, but totally was not. Nigella is the best!
Read all 11 reviews