Sweet and sour cornish hen, stuffed with freekeh, pine nuts and raisins

Nothing can compare to eating chicken with your hands.

This chicken is the best for it

• 1 Cornish hen, 2-3 lb. 

       For the sauce:

• ½ tsp. smoked paprika 

• 1 tsp. honey

• 2 tbsp. olive oil

• 1 tbsp. Baharat

• 1 tsp. cumin

• ½ tsp. black pepper

• 3 garlic cloves, crushed

• 1 small onion, chopped

• 1 tbsp. tamarind paste

• ¼ cup warm chicken stalk

• 1-2 cinnamon sticks

For the freekeh stuffing:

• 1 cup freekeh, soaked in hot water for 20 minutes and then drained (if you use bulgur, soaking in warmish water is enough. Iכ you prefer rice, cook it in hot salted water for 7 minutes and drain)

• 3 tbsp. pine nuts, toasted 

• 3 tbsp. Raisins or currants

• 1 small onion, finely chopped

• 3 tbsp. olive oil

• ¼ cup chicken stalk

• ½ tsp. cinnamon 

• ½ tsp. Cardamom

• 1 tsp. Baharat

• Salt and pepper

• Toothpicks or small skewers

1. Preheat the oven (375°)

2. Mix the ingredients of the sauce and rub the chicken with it. Marinate it in a baking dish for at least 1 hour

3. In a bowl, mix the ingredients of the stuffing

4. Stuff the chicken with it and “close” it with the skewers  (like “sewing”). If you have extra stuffing, you can put it in an oven bag, close and place in the baking dish, next to the chicken.

5. Cover the dish with foil and bake for an hour

6. Uncover and bake for 25 more minutes, till the chicken is brown and crispy