I don’t know what it is about the combination of raspberry and tarragon… I just love it.
Growing up on Vancouver Island, my family garden was a seemingly limitless source of culinary delights. Apparently as a wee tot I used to stroll through the planting boxes eating the tops off of broccoli stalks still in the ground (what a jerk).
Raspberries and tarragon grew in abundance in our garden so this particular flavour combination represents a bit of a flashbulb memory for me- harvesting greens for dinner, wet grass on bare feet, hot days fading in to cool nights scented with the salty ocean breeze… You know, typical Tourism BC type stuff!
This week I moved from my tiny but convenient urban condo to a larger house out in the ‘burbs. While the commute to work will be a little longer, I now have a little garden to call my own. I can’t tell you how happy this makes me. Rain or shine, this weekend I will be planting herbs and veg of my very own. So thank you, Mum and Dad, for showing me how exciting growing your own food can be.
I don’t often cook up whole birds, but I really should- having leftover roast chicken in the fridge is always a treat and I love having a freezer full of homemade chicken stock made from leftover bones and scraps. I think what dissuades me from roasting up a whole chicken more often is the falsely intimidating prospect of ‘an entire beast’ (another reason why getting these wee poussins at the shops was an alluring prospect).
This recipe could easily be made with a whole regular sized chicken but since I made these for a special occasion I wanted to try something different.
| Raspberry Tarragon Cornish Game Hens | Print |
- 4 cornish game hens or 1 regular roasting chicken
- 1.5 cups fresh raspberries
- 1 bunch fresh tarragon, chopped
- ⅓ cup raspberry vinegar
- ¼ cup olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste
- Mash all ingredients together in a small bowl to form a paste. If you want a smoother marinade, use a sieve to strain out all the raspberry seeds.
- Marinate chicken for 1 hour or up to 24 hours.
- If using Cornish hens, bake at 400 degrees for 45 minutes, until the juices from the leg run clear when the skin is punctured. If you are using a regular roasting chicken, bake at 350 degrees for 1.5 to 2 hours (20 minutes for every pound).
- Rest your chicken(s) for at least 15 minutes before serving and carving.
I also avoid cooking whole birds! But I keep thinking I should do roasts more often… Not sure I’ll waste my precious, expensive raspberries on a dish though… I’d rather eat them by themselves… Oh the pain of not living in BC and/or the UK… Next time I visit, Finn, you’re cooking this – deal??
Deal 🙂