I prepared this dish to be submitted for a contest on a food website. I felt like an interesting combination of squash and fig might appeal as a different approach to pasta. This dish has a great flavor of sweet and umami packed in each fork-load.
Cornish Hen Breast- 1 piece
Acorn Squash- 1/4 piece, par cooked, Diced
Pearl Tomatoes- 5 pieces
Dried Turkish Fig- 5 Pieces
Red Wine- 1 cup
Onion- 1/4 piece, small diced
Parsley- 1 Tablespoon minced
Sage- 2 Tablespoon Minced
Brown Sugar- 2 Tablespoon
Butter- 2 ounces
Pasta Linguine- 1 Cup
Preparation for Acorn Squash
Place the squash in an oven and set at 300 degrees for one hour or until cooked. If you can easily poke a knife through the skin then it is ready. After, cut in half, de-seed, de-skin and cut in cubes
Preparation for Dried Turkish Fig
Soak the Turkish fig in Red wine for 30 minutes to rehydrate.
Preparation for Pasta
Bring pot of water to boil with salt. Once at boil, place noodles in until cooked.
Preparation for Cornish Hen
Once the Acorn Squash is out of the oven, sear the breast on a saute pan till brown, then place in th eoven for 10 minutes at 300 degrees.
Final Preparation
Using the same pot that you seared the Cornish Hen, deglaze the pan with the red wine from the Turkish fig. Add onions, sage, and the squash until everything has been slightly sauteed. After, add all the butter and saute till the butter is dark brown. Add the sugar and stir then place ingredients in a bowl. Strain the noodles and toss in the bowl with all the ingredients including. Add the tomatoes at the end then season.
Dante's Kitchen 