Recipe Poussin with Oranges, Chicory & Green Olives

[Morning Glory]

This tray bake is very easy to make. It would work equally well using chicken thighs and/or legs. I partially spatchcocked the poussin, by which I mean I removed the backbone and sort of flattened out the poussin (I didn’t twist the legs round which I believe is more traditional). I think its best served with crusty bread or maybe some baby new potatoes and a green salad. This turned out to be a very economical meal. I used the leftovers to make a salad and the carcass to make a chicken noodle soup (photos to follow).

Ingredients (serves 2)
1 poussin (similar to U.S. Cornish game hen)
1 orange
50 ml dry or medium dry sherry
3 crushed cloves of garlic
Salt
2 large banana shallots
2 small heads of chicory
8 - 10 pitted green olives (I used two different types)
Oil (I used anatto oil - use olive oil as an alternative)
1 large glass of white wine
Sprigs of thyme
Salt to taste

Method

1. Cut 4 to 5 thin rounds from the middle of the orange and set aside.
2. Zest and juice the remainder of the orange
3. Rub a little salt onto the skin of the poussin and place in a dish or bag with the orange juice and zest and the sherry.
4. Leave to marinate for at least two hours or overnight.
5. Heat the oven to 170 C.
6. Halve the shallots lengthways, trim the base and pull off the brown skin. If you soak them in boiling water for 10 minutes this is much easier to do.
7. Halve the chicory heads, lengthways.
8. Slice some of the olives across the diameter and leave some whole.
9. Place the poussin on a baking tin and arrange the shallots, chicory, olives and orange slices around the poussin.
10. Add the marinade and the wine to the baking tin.
11. Scatter with thyme sprigs and drizzle generously with the oil.
12. Bake for 45 - 50 mins. I covered it with foil for the first 20 minutes. Check periodically to ensure the wine & juices don’t evaporate. Add more wine if necessary.

Here is how it looks before going in the oven: