| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 1 hr 20 min |
| Prep: | 20 min |
| Cook: | 1 hr |
| Yield: | 4 servings |
Ingredients
- Celeriac puree
- 1 large celeriac, about 2 pounds/1 kg
- Juice of 1/2 lemon
- 1/4 cup/60 ml milk
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 1/4 cup/60 ml cream
- Freshly ground pepper
- Beer birds
- 2 Cornish game hens, split in half
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 heads garlic, broken into cloves and peeled
- 1/4 pound/125 g bacon strips, quartered
- 4 bay leaves
- 2 branches fresh rosemary, cut into pieces
- 1 tablespoon juniper berries
- 2 cups/500 ml beer
Instructions
- To make the celeriac: Peel and cut the celeriac into roughly 1-inch/2.5 cm pieces. Put the lemon juice, milk, and bay leaf in a large pot, pour over 8-cups/2 liters water. Add the salt, bring to a boil, and simmer until the celeriac is very tender.
- Drain, reserving a cup/250 ml of the cooking liquid. Remove the bay leaf. Stir the butter and cream into the celeriac, then puree until very smooth in a blender, adding as much of the reserved cooking liquid as needed to achieve a soft, smooth consistency. Season with pepper and salt, and keep warm.
- To make the hens: Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Season the hens well with salt and pepper and place in a single layer in a baking dish. Tuck in the garlic, bacon, and herbs. Scatter over the juniper berries. Pour the beer in the side of the dish.
- Bake 15 minutes. Turn the pieces and bake another 15 minutes. Turn again and bake 15 minutes longer. By now the meat should be cooked and sticky with a slightly caramelized sauce. If the hens are done, but there is still too much sauce, simply keep the hens warm while you boil the sauce down a little. Serve the hens with the sauce – herbs, juniper and all – poured over.
- For the plate: Plate the celeriac puree and top with a piece of hen and enjoy!