Hens with Artichokes

By: The Food Hunter

Even though I have tons of cookbooks I will often search online for recipes from my favorite chefs; which is how I found the Mario Batali recipe below. His recipe originally called for quail but I used game hens instead, since they were easier to find at my local supermarket. I imagine chicken would work equally as well.

This savory one pot meal takes a little bit of advance planning to marinate the fowl, but the results are so worth it.



Hens with Artichokes
(adapted from Mario Batali)
8 quails, cleaned and boned(I used game hens)
1 cup balsamic-honey marinade, recipe follows
Salt and pepper, to taste
8 slices prosciutto
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup dry red wine
8 artichokes, tough outer leaves and choke removed, cut into wedges and held in acidulated water
2 cloves garlic, crushed flat

Marinate meat in balsamic honey marinade for 1 to 2 hours.

Season each quail inside and out with salt and pepper and wrap each one in a slice of prosciutto, securing with toothpicks. In a 14 to 16-inch saute pan, heat the olive oil over high heat until almost smoking. Add the quails, a few at a time, and brown over high heat, adding some of the wine with each batch of quails. When the last batch is browned, return all to the pan and add the artichokes and garlic. Add more wine if necessary to maintain moisture in the pan, and cook, covered until the quails and artichokes are tender.

Balsamic-Honey Marinade
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon black peppercorns

In a bowl large enough to hold both the marinade and the quail, mix all the ingredients together.