Cornish Pasta

Sometimes, while the main dish simmers away in the oven, I enjoy playing around with the rest of the meal. This menu of Cornish hens, orzo (a rice-shaped pasta) and spinach is a perfect example. The hens take about 25 minutes in the oven, which is enough time to cook the orzo, rinse and wilt the spinach and get supper on the table.

For the hens, I was inspired by a classic Milanese dish of veal shanks braised in tomatoes, wine, broth and herbs, and served with gremolata, a mixture of finely chopped parsley, grated lemon peel and garlic. The dish is called osso buco, which means “hollow bones,” referring to the softened marrow traditionally eaten from the hollow bone of the veal shank.

Of course, the bones of the Cornish hen are tiny, so marrow is not visible. But the osso buco treatment works just as well with poultry (turkey, chicken legs and thighs--and Cornish hens) as with veal.

Have the butcher split the hens along the backbone and then down the center of the breast or do it yourself with good poultry shears. Serve half a hen per person, along with polenta, potatoes, rice or small pasta (such as the orzo in this menu), moistening everything with the braising liquid. Serve the spinach on the side.

Spinach need not be a labor-intensive vegetable to prepare. Most supermarkets carry cellophane bags of washed spinach that simply require a quick spray and toss in a colander. If you buy spinach in bunches, it might need a few good washings to get out the sandy soil.

I fill the sink or a large bowl with warm water and add the spinach leaves as I snap off the long stems. Squish them around, lift from the water and allow the sand to sink to the bottom. Drain and wash again in cool water. Taste a leaf or two. If you detect any grit, wash again in a clean bowl of cool water. That should do it.

The best way to cook spinach is to steam it with the clean rinse water still clinging to the leaves. The most important part of the recipe is the timing: Do not overcook the spinach. It is delicious when it is just wilted (thus the name of the recipe).

For dessert, serve a platter of halved or quartered ripe pears, plain crackers and a wedge of room-temperature Brie cheese to spread on either the crackers or the pears.

CORNISH HENS OSSO BUCO STYLE

Use a large wide Dutch oven or other pan that goes from stove top to oven, preferably nonstick. To reduce fat, trim as much loose skin from the halved Cornish hens as possible; trim and discard wing tips and tails.

2 Cornish hens (about 1 1/2 pounds each), split in half, well trimmed, rinsed and patted dry

Salt, pepper

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1 small onion, quartered

1 small carrot, peeled and thinly sliced

1 small stalk celery, thinly sliced

1 clove garlic, bruised with side of knife

1 cup dry white wine

1 (15-ounce) can Italian-style plum tomatoes with juice, tomatoes coarsely chopped

1/2 cup unsalted chicken broth

1 bay leaf

1/4 cup packed Italian parsley leaves

1 (1/2x2-inch) strip orange peel

2 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped

Season hens with salt and pepper to taste. Heat olive oil in large skillet over medium heat and, when hot, brown hens on both sides to draw out as much fat as possible, about 5 minutes per side. Transfer hens to platter. Wipe fat from pan with paper towels.

Add onion, carrot, celery and garlic to pan. Cover and “sweat” vegetables over low heat, stirring once or twice, until tender, about 10 minutes. Add wine and bring to boil. Boil over high heat until reduced by half, about 5 minutes. Stir in tomatoes, chicken broth and bay leaf.

Return hens to pan, spooning vegetables over top. Cover and bake at 350 degrees until hens are tender when you poke thigh with knife blade or fork, about 25 minutes. Remove from oven, carefully transfer to deep platter and set aside, loosely covered with foil to keep hens warm. Blot any fat from rich cooking liquid with folded paper towel. Correct seasonings. Remove bay leaf.

Finely chop together parsley, orange peel and garlic. Sprinkle hens with gremolata and serve at once, with side dish of soft polenta, boiled potatoes, rice or orzo.

Makes 4 servings.

Each serving contains about:

439 calories; 438 mg sodium; 112 mg cholesterol; 28 grams fat; 9 grams carbohydrates; 28 grams protein; 0.80 gram fiber.

BUTTERED ORZO

1 1/2 cups orzo or other tiny pasta

Salt

2 tablespoons grated Parmigiano Reggiano, optional

1 tablespoon butter

Cook orzo in plenty of lightly salted boiling water until tender, 12 to 15 minutes, depending on pasta. Drain and stir in cheese and butter.

Makes 4 servings.

Each serving contains about:

175 calories; 103 mg sodium; 8 mg cholesterol; 4 grams fat; 29 grams carbohydrates; 5 grams protein; 0 fiber.

WILTED SPINACH

2 pounds fresh spinach or 2 (10-ounce) bags, stems trimmed, leaves washed and rinsed

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil or butter

1/2 clove garlic, crushed

Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Place collapsible vegetable steaming rack in large, broad saucepan containing about 1 inch water. Bring to boil. Stack spinach on top of rack, cover and steam 3 minutes. Spinach should be wilted and limp. Carefully lift rack from pan with hand protected by oven mitt. Discard water and wipe pan dry.

Add oil and garlic to pan and saute over low heat just until garlic begins to sizzle. Remove from heat. Add spinach all at once. Sprinkle with salt and a little pepper and stir. Serve at once.

Makes 4 servings.

Each serving contains about:

80 calories; 253 mg sodium; 0 cholesterol; 4 grams fat; 8 grams carbohydrates; 7 grams protein; 2.02 grams fiber.