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    Home » Recipes

    Roasted Cornish Hens and Potatoes

    Published: Jan 24, 2021 by Sonila · This post may contain affiliate links · Leave a Comment

    • 48
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    This Roasted Cornish Hens and Potatoes baked dish is such a great family dinner. I often make this for Sunday night dinners and serve with a big salad! Just so flavorful and delish!!!

    Roasted cornish hens and potatoes in a baking dish, there are 2 hens on the dish surrounded by lots of potatoes.
    Roasted Cornish Hens and Potatoes

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    Cornish Hens or Chickens?

    Well, Cornish Hens are chickens but usually they’re much smaller. Usually Cornish Hens are less than 2 lbs. I looked at all the ones in my grocery store and they were between 1-1.25 lbs.

    Cornish hens were used at dinner celebrations in my native country, usually serving 1 per person. However, when I prepare them at home, I usually serve 1 hen to 2 people by splitting in half. We called this dish “Tave me Pule dhe Patate”.

    They’re more elegant in presentation hence Cornish hens are often served in fancy restaurants too when the dish calls for a roasted chicken.

    Side Dishes

    I love serving this baked dish with a big, fresh salad. Below you’ll see an example with a garden salad that has halloumi cheese. You can also serve it with the following:

    • Greek Salad
    • Orange Leek Salad
    • Orange Arugula Salad
    A baking dish with hens and potatoes next to a salad platter.
    Roasted Cornish Hen and Potatoes Served with Salad

    Tips & Notes

    I love roasting Cornish hens with potatoes. Usually I use Russet Potatoes for this dish. It takes the chickens about 1 hr to roast properly so you don’t want potatoes that cook in 30-40 minutes. Russet potatoes when cut in big pieces also take about 1 hr to cook, allowing you to roast them together.

    I used a simple Mediterranean herb rub for the Cornish hens and the leftovers of the rub as a spice for the potatoes. The herb rub contained: Parsley, Oregano, Paprika, Marjoram and Salt.

    Other spices and herbs you can use in the rub are: Rosemary, Cayenne pepper, Black pepper etc.

    Baking dish pictured is 9×14.

    Internal temperature of the Cornish hens should reach 165 degrees F when roasting.

    When the dish is done cooking and you would like the skin of the hens to be slightly charred, then you can turn the Broil on for about 5 minutes.

    And finally, try to baste once or twice during the time the dish is cooking. It helps the skin of the hens not to get too dry. Usually, I grab one side of the baking tray with oven mittens, tilt it to one side then spoon some of the liquid on top of the chickens. If that’s not possible, use some more chicken stock or butter to soften the skin!

    Roasted chicken and potatoes in a baking dish

    Roasted Cornish Hens with Potatoes

    This Roasted Cornish Hens with Potatoes dish is a great family meal, both kids and adult love. It's a great comfort food. We serve it with a big side salad!
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 15 mins
    Cook Time 1 hr
    Total Time 1 hr 15 mins
    Course Main Course
    Cuisine Albanian, Mediterranean
    Servings 4 servings
    Calories 862 kcal

    Equipment

    • 9×14 baking dish

    Ingredients
      

    • 2 Cornish hens about 1-1.5 lbs each
    • 3 lbs russet potatoes
    • 2 ozs carrots
    • 3 tbsps olive oil extra virgin
    • 1 cup chicken stock
    • 1 red onion
    • 1 lemon
    • 1 tbsp dry parsley
    • 1 tbsp dry oregano
    • 1 tbsp salt I prefer Mediterranean Sea Salt
    • 1 tsp paprika
    • 1 tsp dry marjoram

    Instructions
     

    • Make sure Cornish hens are thawed. Peel the potatoes and place them in a big bowl of water so they don't brown. Prepare spice rub. Mix parsley, oregano, salt, marjoram and paprika well in a separate container. Chop the red onion in cubic shapes and slice the lemon. Peel and cut the carrots too if you didn't get them already peeled.
    • Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit (about 200 degrees Celsius).
    • Pat dry the Cornish hens with a paper towel. Then rub the herb rub all over the hens, under the arms, over the drumsticks, under the skin etc. Stuff the cavity with red onion and lemon as seen in the video below.
    • Place both Cornish hens in the baking dish. Then slice the potatoes in big slices and add them around the hens. Add leftover onion pieces all around and add the carrots as well. Use leftover herb rub as seasoning for the potatoes. Drizzle olive oil and finally add 1 cup of chicken stock over the potatoes.
    • Bake for about 1 hour, check around 30 minutes and baste the hens. Cover with aluminum foil if they look already cooked so they don't burn by the 1 hr mark.
    • Once baked you. can serve half a Cornish hen per serving with potatoes and a large salad as a side dish. Enjoy:)

    Video

    Nutrition Label

    Nutrition Facts
    Roasted Cornish Hens with Potatoes
    Amount Per Serving
    Calories 862 Calories from Fat 387
    % Daily Value*
    Fat 43g66%
    Saturated Fat 11g69%
    Cholesterol 229mg76%
    Sodium 1997mg87%
    Potassium 2160mg62%
    Carbohydrates 71g24%
    Fiber 7g29%
    Sugar 6g7%
    Protein 48g96%
    Vitamin A 2769IU55%
    Vitamin C 41mg50%
    Calcium 112mg11%
    Iron 6mg33%
    * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 862kcalCarbohydrates: 71gProtein: 48gFat: 43gSaturated Fat: 11gCholesterol: 229mgSodium: 1997mgPotassium: 2160mgFiber: 7gSugar: 6gVitamin A: 2769IUVitamin C: 41mgCalcium: 112mgIron: 6mg
    Keyword roasted cornish hen, roasted hen with Mediterranean spice rub, roasted potatoes
    Tried this recipe?Mention @mediterranean_latin_love or tag #mediterraneanlatinloveaffair!

    If you would like to save this recipe for later, please feel free to save the below image to your boards in Pinterest. I would love to see if you tried the recipe, tag me in social media or comment below with any questions. Thank you:)

    Instagram: mediterranean_latin_love or Twitter: MediterrLatin or Facebook: Mediterranean Latin Love Affair.

    An image prepared for Pinterest, showing a baked dish cornish hens and potatoes, a title bar and a website link in the bottom.
    Roasted Cornish Hens with Potatoes

    Other Dinner Recipes

    Check out more dinner recipes from my blog.

    • Chicken Rice Bake
    • Potatoes & Chorizo Bake
    • Stuffed Peppers

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    • 48

    Filed Under: Albanian, Main Dishes, Mediterranean Food, Recipes Tagged With: Chicken, Roasted Potatoes

    About Sonila

    Mom of 2, wife, engineer, food blogger & recipe creator! Sonila was born in Albania, her heritage inspires her Mediterranean recipes while that of her husband the Latin ones. Sonila has 2 degrees in Engineering from University of Miami.

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    Sonila Zarate
    Sonila Zarate

    Mom of 2, wife, engineer, food blogger & recipe creator! Sonila was born in Albania, her heritage inspires her Mediterranean recipes while that of her husband the Latin ones. Sonila has 2 degrees in Engineering from University of Miami.

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