Best Moroccan Style Cornish Hens With Couscous Recipes

MOROCCAN COUSCOUS

Steps:

• Melt the butter in a large saute pan, add the shallots and cook for 3 minutes over medium heat. Add the chicken stock, salt and pepper, raise the heat to high and bring the stock to a boil. Off the heat and add the couscous. Cover the pan and let it sit for 10 minutes.
• Add the pignoli nuts and currants to the couscous, stir and serve.
• Place the chickens, onions, carrots, celery, parsnips, parsley, thyme, dill, garlic, salt, and peppercorns in a 16 to 20-quart stockpot with 7 quarts of water and bring to a boil. Skim the surface as needed. Simmer uncovered for 4 hours. Strain the entire contents of the pot through a colander, discarding the chicken and vegetables, and chill. Discard the hardened fat, and then pack the broth in quart containers.

MOROCCAN-STYLE CORNISH HENS WITH COUSCOUS

Steps:

• Mix 3 tablespoons of the oil with the paprika, 1 1/2 teaspoons cumin, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Rub inside surfaces of hens with 1 tablespoon of the lemon juice, then smear them, inside and out, with the spice paste. Set aside 1 hour.
• Sauté onions in remaining oil in a skillet over medium heat until golden. Stir in raisins and remaining cumin and cook until onions are lightly browned. Fold in cooked couscous and season with salt and pepper.
• Preheat grill or heat oven to 375 degrees. If grilling, sear hens on the skin side over medium heat, then turn them over, basting a couple of times with remaining lemon juice, until cooked through, about 35 minutes. If using oven, roast hen halves skin side up in a roasting pan until cooked through, 35 to 40 minutes, basting a couple of times with remaining lemon juice.
• Reheat couscous, fold in cilantro, and mound on a platter. Arrange hen halves around couscous and serve hot or warm.

MOROCCAN CHICKEN WITH APRICOT COUSCOUS AND GREEN OLIVE SAUCE IN FLAT BREAD

Steps:

• To prepare the Moroccan Spice Mix for the Chicken: Combine the cinnamon stick, cloves, cayenne, cumin, fennel, coriander, and paprika in a dry skillet over low heat and toast for just a minute to release the fragrant oils; shake the pan so they don't scorch. In a spice mill or clean coffee grinder, grind the toasted spices together, with 1 1/2 teaspoons of kosher salt and the brown sugar. (A word of advice: make sure you thoroughly wipe out your coffee grinder before you make coffee again - Moroccan spices taste great on chicken but horrible with coffee.)
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Rinse the chicken with cool water, inside and out, then pat it dry with paper towels. Massage the chicken skin with the spice rub; make sure you don't miss a spot. Season the inside of the chicken generously with salt and pepper. Stuff the lemons halves, cilantro, and garlic in the cavity and place the chicken in a roasting pan fitted with a rack. Fold the wing tips under the bird and tie the legs together with kitchen string. Drizzle the oil all over the chicken. If you have time, let the chicken marinate for 30 minutes to really get the flavors down deep into the meat. Roast the chicken for 1 hour; pop an instant-read thermometer into the thickest part of the thigh; if it reads 160 degrees F, it's done. Allow the chicken to rest for 10 minutes so the juices can settle back into the meat. Remove and discard the skin from the chicken. Pull the chicken from the bone and shred the meat, with your fingers or 2 forks. Put the shredded chicken in a large bowl and squeeze the lemon halves that have cooked inside the bird over the meat to moisten.
• To prepare the Apricot Couscous: Put the couscous in a medium bowl; pour the water over it, stir with a fork to combine. Cover and let sit for 10 to 15 minutes, then uncover and fluff with a fork. Put the apricots, almonds, green onions, mint, and cilantro on a cutting board and coarsely chop everything up; add this to the couscous. Add lemon juice, drizzle with olive oil, and season with salt and pepper. Toss gently to combine.
• To prepare the Green Olive Sauce: In a small skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Saute the shallots and chile over low heat for 8 minutes until caramelized, then scrape into a food processor. Add the olives, parsley, vinegar, lemon juice, and 1/2 cup of oil; puree a good 3 minutes until totally smooth.
• To put the whole thing together: put the shredded chicken and couscous on the lavosh bread, add a few spoonfuls of the olive sauce, and roll the sandwich up. Wrap in foil and take the sandwich to a picnic, if desired.

MOROCCAN-STYLE CORNISH GAME HENS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400°F. Finely grind first 7 ingredients in spice grinder or coffee grinder. Transfer to small bowl. Whisk in orange juice, oil and garlic. (Spice mixture can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill.)
• Rub spice mixture all over hens; place hens in large roasting pan. Sprinkle hens inside and out with salt and pepper. Tie legs together to hold shape. Arrange carrots in pan around hens. Sprinkle carrots with salt and pepper. Roast 30 minutes. Add stock to roasting pan. Roast hens until juices run clear when thickest part of thigh is pierced and carrots are tender, basting hens occasionally with pan juices, about 35 minutes longer. Place 1 hen on each of 4 plates. Arrange carrots alongside. Spoon warm Orange-Honey Sauce over and serve.

MORROCAN-STYLE ROAST CORNISH HENS WITH VEGETABLES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425°F.
• Coarsely grind caraway seeds with salt in an electric coffee/spice grinder or crush with a rolling pin. Mince garlic, then mash to a paste with salt mixture using flat side of a chef's knife. Transfer paste to a large bowl and whisk in honey, lemon juice, oil, spices, and pepper.
• Put zucchini, turnips, bell peppers, butternut squash, and onions in an oiled large roasting pan, then add half of spice mixture and toss until well coated. Stir tomatoes and broth into vegetables. Add hens to large bowl with remaining spice mixture and toss to coat, then arrange hens, breast sides up, over vegetables in pan.
• Cover pan tightly with foil and roast in middle of oven 1 hour. Uncover and roast until hens are browned and vegetables are tender, 20 to 30 minutes more. Skim fat from cooking liquid. Sprinkle herbs on top and spoon some cooking liquid over hens.