Cozy Cooking Tip from Quails’ Gate Winery
This is so clever! I got an email from Quails’ Gate Winery the other day with a fabulous fall recipe that looked so yummy that I had to share it with you. Not only does it give us all a great cold-weather dish to make, but if we want to taste this very dish — masterfully done — we can just head over to Old Vines Restaurant at Quails’ Gate Winery to enjoy it.
Quails' Gate wines to go with the recipe below.
What I love about this smart marketing is the subtlety: 1) the recipe draws me in and offers me a wine pairing (Quails’ Gate’s Pinot Noir, of course!); 2) it reminds me that Old Vines Restaurant is open all year-round and that the food there is totally fabulous; 3) it rewards me for being the audience, which is just the sort of classy thing Quails’ Gate would do.
So, without further ado, here’s Chef Roger Sleiman’s Paprika Roasted Cornish Game Hen with lemon, herb & potato gnocchi (which I imagine you could make with chicken breast, too, if you wanted). And if your mouth isn’t watering already, then quick, pull out that stethoscope and check for a beat!
Chef Roger Sleiman at Old Vines Restaurant.
Paprika Roasted Cornish Game Hen with lemon, herb & potato gnocchi
2 lbs Cornish Game Hen (chicken breast works, too)
1 tsp Sweet Spanish paprika
1 tsp fresh rosemary chopped
1 tsp lemon zest
1 Tbsp sun dried black olives chopped
1 tsp olive oil
500ml brown chicken stock
Salt & freshly ground pepper
2 Tbsp lemon juice
250g butter
Split the hen into two halves and remove back bone. Mix together the paprika, rosemary, lemon zest and oil into a paste. Rub hen well and let marinate for at least 4 hours.
Preheat oven to 350 F
Gnocchi
2 lbs Yukon Potatoes
1 egg
21/4 cups flour
2 tsps lemon zest
1 Tbsp chopped sage & parsley
Boil the potatoes with skin on. Drain and let cool enough to handle (do not cool completely). Mash the potatoes using a ricer.
Dust work surface with a little flour, make a well with the potatoes and add the egg, herbs and the flour. Knead them together slowly until well mixed.
Cut into 1” pieces. Bring water to a boil, blanch until they float, strain and cool on a tray.
Heat a large frying pan and sear the hen in some oil and a little butter, skin side down until golden, flip over and place in 350 oven for 15 minutes.
When done, take out of frying pan and let rest.
Drain some of the fat and return pan to the burner, deglace with the lemon juice, add chicken stock and scrape up any drippings, reduce by half. Finish with a Tbsp of butter, olives and some freshly chopped parsley. Check seasoning.
Assembly:
Sauté gnocchi in some butter until lightly browned, place hen on top and finish with the chicken jus. Serve with your favourite vegetables.
Wine Pairing: Quails’ Gate 2007 Pinot Noir
