Tips to make tasty cornish hens

Fibre-rich sweet potatoes, parsnips and celeriac protect the digestive tract. They also make a tasty side to an oven roasted cornish hen.  Here's how to make this delectable dish.

This recipe takes 15 minutes to prepare and about an hour to cook. Here's the ingredients:

• 2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 2.5 cm (1 in) chunks
• 2 large parsnips, peeled and cut into 2.5 cm (1 in) chunks
• 1 large celeriac, peeled and cut into 2.5 cm (1 in) chunks
• 1 medium red onion, quartered
• 10 ml (2 tsp) fresh thyme or 5 g (1 tsp) dried thyme
• 2 ml (1⁄2 tsp) salt
• 2 ml (1⁄2 tsp) black pepper
• 30 ml (2 tbsp) olive oil
• 4 Cornish hens (about 500 g/1 lb each)
• 2 ml (1⁄2 tsp) paprika
• 30 ml (2 tbsp) honey

1. Place oven rack in lowest position and preheat oven to 180°C (350°F).
2. In large roasting pan or two smaller pans, combine potatoes, parsnip, celeriac, onion, thyme, salt, pepper and oil. Place hens, breast-side up, in among the vegetables. Sprinkle with paprika.
3. Bake for 50 minutes, stirring vegetables occasionally. Stir honey into the vegetables. Bake until the hens are cooked through and vegetables are fork-tender, or 10 to 15 minutes. Cut each hen in half to serve.

Remove the skin from the Cornish hens after cooking and discard to cut the amount of saturated fat in this dish by half.

Sweet potatoes belong to a select group of power vegetables loaded with important nutrients. Beta-carotene is a powerful antioxidant linked to lowered risk of certain cancers and heart disease. This combined with the healthy cornish hen makes this recipe a big winner