Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons pure olive oil
• 4 cornish hens, split in half down the back
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 1 cup pearl onions, peeled (frozen are fine)
• 1/2 cup diced carrots
• 1/2 cup diced turnips
• 2 tablespoons dried thyme
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 cup dry red wine
• 1/2 cup canned plum tomatoes, drained and crushed
• 2 cups chicken stock
• 1/4 cup crumbled crisp-fried bacon

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Heat the olive oil in a large, deep skillet. Season the hen halves with the salt and pepper and brown well on both sides before removing and placing in an ovenproof casserole.
2. To the skillet in which you cooked the hens, add the onions, carrots, turnips, thyme and garlic and saute until the vegetables begin to wilt. Add the red wine, plum tomatoes and chicken stock to the vegetables and cook 10 minutes over medium heat. Pour the vegetable mixture over the hens in the ovenproof casserole and bake 1 1/4 hours.
3. When the hens have finished baking, add the cooked, crumbled bacon to the casserole and serve with chive mashed potatoes.