Recipe courtesy of Laura Calder
Beer Bird with Celeriac Puree
- Level: Easy
- Yield: 4 servings
- Total: 1 hr 20 min
- Prep: 20 min
- Cook: 1 hr
Ingredients
Celeriac puree
1 large celeriac, about 2 pounds/1 kg
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1/4 cup/60 ml milk
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup/60 ml cream
Freshly ground pepper
Beer birds
2 Cornish game hens, split in half
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 heads garlic, broken into cloves and peeled
1/4 pound/125 g bacon strips, quartered
4 bay leaves
2 branches fresh rosemary, cut into pieces
1 tablespoon juniper berries
2 cups/500 ml beer
Directions
- To make the celeriac: Peel and cut the celeriac into roughly 1-inch/2.5 cm pieces. Put the lemon juice, milk, and bay leaf in a large pot, pour over 8-cups/2 liters water. Add the salt, bring to a boil, and simmer until the celeriac is very tender.
- Drain, reserving a cup/250 ml of the cooking liquid. Remove the bay leaf. Stir the butter and cream into the celeriac, then puree until very smooth in a blender, adding as much of the reserved cooking liquid as needed to achieve a soft, smooth consistency. Season with pepper and salt, and keep warm.
- To make the hens: Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Season the hens well with salt and pepper and place in a single layer in a baking dish. Tuck in the garlic, bacon, and herbs. Scatter over the juniper berries. Pour the beer in the side of the dish.
- Bake 15 minutes. Turn the pieces and bake another 15 minutes. Turn again and bake 15 minutes longer. By now the meat should be cooked and sticky with a slightly caramelized sauce. If the hens are done, but there is still too much sauce, simply keep the hens warm while you boil the sauce down a little. Serve the hens with the sauce - herbs, juniper and all - poured over.
- For the plate: Plate the celeriac puree and top with a piece of hen and enjoy!