Cornish Hens With Eggplant And Shiitake Mushrooms

By á-174942

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves peeled, crushed
• 2 Japanese eggplant sliced 1/2" thick
• 1/2 pound shiitake mushrooms stems discarded, and caps sliced
• 2 small Rock Cornish hens washed, patted dry
• 3 strips bacon
• 1/2 teaspoon Hungarian paprika
• 1/3 cup dry white wine
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 2 1/2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme (or 1 tspn dried thyme, crushed)
• Salt to taste
• Freshly-ground black pepper to taste
• 1 tablespoon Madeira or sweet sherry

Details

Servings 2

Preparation

Step 1

Heat oil in large pan or Dutch oven. Add garlic, eggplant and mushrooms and saute until vegetables are golden, 5 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Set aside.

Clean hens, brown bacon in pan and remove bacon slices. Add hens to bacon fat and brown on all sides. Remove hens and pour off fat.

Add paprika and stir over low heat for 1 to 2 minutes. Add white wine and scrape up browned bits off bottom. Add chicken broth, thyme, salt and pepper. Simmer 2 to 3 minutes. Add hens, vegetables and baste with pan juices.

Bake in 350 degree oven, uncovered until hens and vegetables are tender, about 1 hour. Remove hens, eggplant and mushrooms to serving dish. Add Madeira to pan. Cook uncovered over high until liquid is reduced by 1/4. Pour sauce over hens and vegetables, crumble bacon over dish.

This recipe yields 2 servings.