Roasted Cornish Hens with Fresh Fig Chutney

Name: Roasted Cornish Hens with Fresh Fig Chutney
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 1 h
Total time: 1 h 20 min
Yield: 8 servings
Ingredients: Roasted Cornish Hens (Steps 1-4); Olive oil; Salt and pepper; 4 Cornish Hens; 2 lemons – quartered; 8 sprigs lemon-thyme; -Fig Chutney- (Steps 5-7); Olive oil; 4 shallots – peeled and sliced; 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar; 2 tablespoons dried cranberries or golden raisins; Coarse sea salt; Black pepper; 24 figs – quartered; 1 large or 2 medium peaches – sliced; ¼ cup fresh mint - chopped

By Pascale Beale

Updated May 2026

ChickenFallFigsMain CoursePoultry

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Roasted Cornish Hens with Fresh Fig Chutney

Photography by Pascale's Kitchen Studio

Total Time 1 hours and 20 minutes

Difficulty Medium

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour

Elizabeth David, the wonderful British food writer, wrote in her book An Omelette and a Glass of Wine “To eat figs off the tree in the very early morning, when they have been barely touched by the sun, is one of the exquisite pleasures of the Mediterranean.” Given the Mediterranean climate we enjoy here on the Central Coast and the proximity of these tasty fruit – in my case – a very tempting tree dripping with white figs around the corner from my house (no I did not try one), I thought I would indulge in dishes with this most succulent of fruit.

There is something quite exotic about figs. Their plain exterior hiding the lush and succulent fruit within. They are rich in flavor, moist and pair wonderfully well with savory and sweet dishes alike. Late summer-Early Autumn is fig season and the markets are teaming with them. I love the marriage of a soft creamy cheese with some fresh figs or a little salad with fresh figs chopped into it, but I also love cooking with figs and they are sensational paired with chickens or Cornish hens, duck too for that matter if your taste buds run that way.

Preparation

1
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
2
Place the Cornish hens in a roasting pan and pour a little olive oil over the top of them. Sprinkle with salt and pepper; add the quartered lemons and the lemon-thyme and then place in the center of the oven and bake for 1 hour.
3
Remove the game hens from the oven and place them on a carving board. Let them rest for ten minutes before carving. Warm 8 dinner plates in the oven.
4
Serve with the fig chutney alongside. This is delicious served with a summer salad filled with wild greens.
5
Pour a little olive oil into a shallow pan that is large enough to hold all the ingredients. Place over a medium flame. Add in the shallots and cook until they are soft and translucent. This will take at least 5 minutes. Add some salt and pepper and the balsamic vinegar. Cook a minute more.
6
Stir in the dried cranberries (or golden raisins) and cook for 2 minutes. Add in the quartered figs and peach slices and cook, stirring carefully, for a further 5-7 minutes. Remove from the heat.
7
When you are ready to serve the chutney stir in the chopped mint.

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Roasted Cornish Hens with Fresh Fig Chutney

Preparation

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