Ingredients
4 tablespoons butter
1 medium onion, cut into 1/4-inch dice
1/2 pound white mushrooms, stemmed and quartered
1/2 cup whole kasha
2 1/2 cups Homemade Chicken Stock, or canned low-sodium chicken broth, skimmed of fat
All-purpose flour, seasoned with salt and pepper, for dredging
2 two-pound Cornish game hens, split, with backbones reserved
1/4 cup white wine
1/2 pound orecchiette pasta, cooked al dente
1/3 cup loosely packed parsley leaves, finely chopped
Preparation
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. place a roasting pan in it. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add onions, cook 10 to 12 minutes; add mushrooms, cook until tender. Add kasha and 2 cups stock. Cook until kasha is tender, about 20 minutes. Set aside.
Melt 1 1/2 tablespoons butter in a cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Flour hens and cook, skin side down, with backbones, until golden brown, 6 to 8 minutes. Turn, and cook 3 to 5 more minutes. Transfer hens to roasting pan; roast for about 20 minutes.
Pour grease from skillet. Over high heat, add wine, and use a wooden spoon to scrape up brown bits. Lower heat, add remaining stock, and cook until reduced by a third, 5 minutes. Stir in remaining butter.
Stir cooked pasta and parsley into kasha. Season, and heat through. Serve hens over kasha pilaf, and spoon sauce over hens.
