Roast Poussin With Prunes And Thyme Recipes

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.

Steps:

• Simmer the prunes in one cup wine plus water to cover for 20 minutes, covered. Cool.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
• Season the pork loin with salt and pepper. Stuff the prunes, thyme and garlic into the pork (you do not need to untie the roast, simply push the prunes inside the openings). Roast the pork on a rack in a covered roasting pan for about two-and-a-half hours, or until the meat is tender. Any leftover prunes can be placed in the bottom of the roasting pan after the meat has cooked for an hour.
• Remove the meat from the pan to a serving dish. Transfer the cooking juices and any loose prunes to a small saucepan. Skim off the excess fat and add the remaining wine and chicken stock. Bring to boil, season to taste and serve in a heated sauceboat.

Steps:

• With a mortar and pestle coarsely crush lavender and in a small bowl stir together with butter, thyme, zest, and salt and pepper to taste until combined well. Spoon mixture onto a sheet of plastic wrap and form into a 4-inch-long log. Chill compound butter, wrapped well in plastic wrap, until firm, at least 30 minutes, and up to 3 days.
• Preheat oven to 475° F.
• Discard gizzards from birds and trim necks flush with bodies if necessary. Rinse birds inside and out and pat dry. Starting at neck end of each bird, slide fingers between meat and skin to loosen skin (be careful not to tear skin). Cut butter into sixteen 1/4-inch-thick slices and gently push 4 slices under skin of each bird, putting 1 slice over each breast half and thigh. Tie legs of each bird together with kitchen string and secure wings to sides with wooden picks or bamboo skewers.
• Arrange birds in a flameproof roasting pan large enough to hold them without crowding. Gently rub birds with lemon halves, squeezing juice over them, and season with salt and pepper. Roast birds in middle of oven 30 minutes (for poussins) to 45 minutes (for Cornish hens), or until an instant-read thermometer inserted in thickest part of a thigh (be careful not to touch bone) registers 170° F.
• Transfer birds to a platter and loosely cover with foil to keep warm. Add Sauternes to roasting pan and deglaze over moderate heat, scraping up brown bits. Transfer jus to a small saucepan. Skim fat from jus and simmer until reduced to about 1/2 cup.
• Garnish birds with herbs and serve with jus.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 220C/fan 200C/ gas 7. Season the inside of the poussins generously with salt and pepper, then stuff each with a garlic clove, half a bunch of thyme and a lemon half.
• Sit the birds in a shallow roasting dish. Smother generously with butter, then season the skin with sea salt and black pepper. Roast in the oven for about 40 mins.
• While the birds are roasting, prepare the accompaniments. For the braised peas and lettuce, heat a frying pan and add a drizzle of oil. Sizzle the bacon for 2 mins until starting to crisp. Turn down the heat a little, toss in the onions, then continue to cook for 6-7 mins until they are golden.
• Pour the chicken stock into the pan, simmer for 2 mins, then scatter in the peas and cook for 2 mins more. Lastly, stir in the lettuce and cook for 1 min until just wilted, then set aside.
• For the spring vegetables, bring a large pan of salted water to the boil and have a bowl of iced water at the ready. In batches, boil all the veg (except the radishes), then transfer to the iced water. The courgettes will take 3 mins, the carrots and leeks 2 mins. Drain the vegetables, then lay them on kitchen paper to dry.
• Heat a drizzle of olive oil in another frying pan, then stir-fry the vegetables until just starting to colour. Add the vinegar, lemon zest and a little seasoning. Turn off the heat, toss through the radishes, then drizzle with a little more oil.
• Check if the poussins are cooked by inserting a skewer or small knife between the leg and the breast; if the juices are pink, give the bird an extra 5-10 minutes in the oven. Once ready, remove the poussins from the dish and leave to rest, upside down, for 10 mins (this keeps the breasts from drying out). To make a simple gravy, remove the lemon halves from the poussins, squeeze into the juices in the roasting dish, then whisk together.
• Strain the lemony juices into a jug. You are now ready to carve the birds and plate up.
• Using a sharp knife, cut through the thigh joint and remove the leg. Cut each leg through the joint to separate the drumstick from the thigh. Carefully carve the breasts away from the bone, cutting through the joint to leave the wing attached. Carve each breast into 2 pieces so each portion has 2 pieces of leg and 2 pieces of breast.
• Spoon a mound of the braised peas and lettuce into the centre of 4 large, shallow, bowls. Neatly assemble a 'nest' of vegetables around the lettuce. Pile the carved poussin on top of the lettuce, giving each serving the same amount of meat. Pour over the lemony sauce and serve straight away.

Steps:

• Put butter in small flameproof roasting pan and put pan in oven. Preheat oven to 450°F.
• Pat chicken dry and sprinkle with thyme and salt and pepper to taste. Put chicken, skin sides down, in hot butter and arrange carrots, onion, and lemon around chicken. Season vegetables with salt.
• Roast chicken and vegetables 10 minutes. Turn chicken sides up and put 3 prunes under each half. Roast chicken and vegetables, stirring vegetables once halfway through cooking time, 15 minutes more, or until chicken is cooked through and vegetables are tender. Remove pan from oven and with slotted spoon transfer chicken, vegetables, lemon, and prunes to a platter.
• In measuring cup or small bowl stir together broth, wine, flour, and parsley. Add mixture to pan and broil over high heat, stirring and scraping up browned bits, 1 minute, or until thickened slightly.
• Pour sauce over chicken and vegetables and garnish with parsley sprigs.