Roasted Hen with Herb

By the title of this post you'd think I was roasting my husband Henry with my Uncle Herb.
Not the case.

My neighbor was kind enough to pick me up a lovely kosher Rock Cornish Hen the other day from Costco (seems like the only place to find them).

What is a Rock Cornish Hen anyway?
Supposedly it's a crossbreed between a White Rock hen and a Cornish hen.

Ok, that really didn't explain it, but it is a smaller breed of fowl, with more white meat and leaner than your regular Friday night chicken.

Cornish Hens always seemed so precious.
My paternal grandmother would reserve them for special occasions, everyone got an individual hen on a fancy Minton china plate.

They were usually stuffed with rice and I always felt like a grown up eating them (though there was little meat on them, looking back).

As an adult, I don't think I have ever purchased a little Cornish Hen from Cornwall, or wherever the things are from! I like meat! I want leftovers for tomorrow!
The bigger the better!

Well, this particular bird was 4 lbs! A big sucker.



If you don't have fresh herbs in your garden, on your patio or on your window sill, get some!



They make every meal better, from a fresh basil leaf on a sandwich to chopped parsley on top of a pasta dish.
I couldn't live without them.



I made a fresh herb paste (parsley, thyme and rosemary with olive oil) to rub under the skin and stuffed him with a quarter of an onion and some smashed garlic cloves.



Seasoned the sucker with kosher salt and pepper and roasted him at 425F for about an hour plus a few minutes, basting him once or twice (isn't a hen a "she"?).

I let the bird rest a few minutes before slicing.



Save the skin for me.

This was truly delicious.