Pomegranate and honey-glazed poussin

By: Amanda Ruben
From: Feasting
Photographer: Elisa Watson

My mum, a medical technologist by day, would come home from work and throw amazing dinner parties for her friends, making everything from scratch in just a few hours. The meal almost always finished with perfect chocolate soufflés – since she passed away I always order soufflé when it’s on a menu in her honour, but I’m yet to have one as good as hers. Stuffed baby chickens were another one of Mum’s specialties, so this poussin recipe also reminds me of her. You can buy poussin from specialty poultry butchers; if you’re kosher, use baby spatchcocks instead. You need to marinate the poussin for eight hours or overnight.

Ingredients

Quantity	Ingredient
6 x 600g	poussin, butterflied
	sea salt, to taste
	Saffron and barberry pilaf
2 tablespoons	pomegranate seeds, to garnish
2 tablespoons	white mulberries, to garnish (optional)

Crispy vine leaves

Quantity	Ingredient
8	vine leaves in brine, drained
	olive oil, for brushing

Marinade

Quantity	Ingredient
8 tablespoons	honey
8 tablespoons	pomegranate molasses
4 teaspoons	baharat
4 teaspoons	orange zest
4 teaspoons	salt
300ml	extra-virgin olive oil
2	oranges, juice only

Method

Whisk together all the marinade ingredients in a large non-reactive bowl. Add the birds and coat them in the marinade, then cover the bowl and transfer to the refrigerator to marinate for at least 8 hours, preferably overnight.
Preheat the oven to 200°C.
Place the poussins on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Pour any left-over marinade into a small jug or bowl, for basting.
Roast the poussins for 30–35 minutes, basting every 10 minutes with the marinade. Remove from the oven and leave to rest.
Reduce the oven temperature to 160°C.
To make the crispy vine leaves, soak the vine leaves in cold water for 5 minutes to remove the excess salt. Dry on paper towel, then brush both sides of each leaf with oil and transfer to a baking tray lined with baking paper. Place another baking tray on top and bake for 10–12 minutes, until dry and crispy.
To serve, divide the saffron and barberry pilaf evenly among serving plates and top with the poussin. Garnish with a little extra salt, the crispy vine leaves, pomegranate seeds and white mulberries, if using.