Recipe for "autumn-hens"

NAME

     AUTUMN-HENS - Cornish game hens stewed in fruit and sugar
     I originally got this recipe from the Sunday magazine of the
     local  paper.   I  served it last year for Christmas dinner,
     and it's very good.  What's more, this recipe is easy:   you
     just put everything in a bowl, marinate overnight, then bake
     until done!

INGREDIENTS (serves 8)

     8         Cornish game hens (each about 500 g)
     12        large garlic cloves, peeled and finely minced
     5 g       dried oregano
               salt (to taste)
               pepper (to taste)
     25 cl     red wine vinegar
     1 dl      olive oil
     150 g     pitted prunes
     150 g     dried apricots
     150 g     pitted green olives
     100 g     capers (plus a bit of the juice)
     8         bay leaves
     200 g     brown sugar
     25 cl     dry white wine
     10 g      Italian parsley (chopped)

PROCEDURE

          (1)  Clean hens well under cold water.  Pat dry.
          (2)  In a large bowl, combine  hens,  garlic,  oregano,
               salt,  pepper,  vinegar,  oil,  prunes,  apricots,
               olives, capers (with juice) and bay leaves.  Cover
               and refrigerate overnight to marinate.
          (3)  Preheat oven to 175 deg. C.
          (4)  Arrange game hens in 1 or 2 shallow roasting pans.
               Spoon  all  the  marinade over the hens.  Sprinkle
               evenly with brown sugar and pour wine around them.
          (5)  Bake for 1 to  1 1/4  hours,  basting  frequently,
               until  golden.  Juice should look clear when thigh
               is pricked with a fork.
          (6)  Transfer hens, fruit, olives and capers to a serv-
               ing platter.  Moisten with pan juices and sprinkle
               with parsley.  Pass  remaining  pan  juices  in  a
               sauceboat.

RATING

     Difficulty: easy.  Time: 5  minutes  preparation,  overnight
     marinating, 1 hour cooking.  Precision: approximate measure-
     ment OK.

CONTRIBUTOR

     Nancy Mintz
     UNIX System Development Lab, AT&T-IS, Summit, NJ
     ihnp4!attunix!nlm