Paprika-Roasted Cornish Hens and Vegetables

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon caraway seeds 
• 3 large carrots 
• 0.5 teaspoon ground pepper to taste
• 1 medium celery root peeled cut into 1-inch pieces (sometimes called celeriac)
• 4.5 pounds cornish game hens 
• 2 tablespoons parsley fresh chopped
• 1 large potato boiling peeled cut into 1-inch pieces
• 3  bell pepper red cut into 1-inch-wide strips
• 2.5 teaspoons salt 
• 6  shallots halved
• 1 cup cream sour
• 1.5 tablespoons paprika sweet (preferably Hungarian)
• 0.3 cup vegetable oil 
• 3 tablespoons water 

Equipment

• bowl
• frying pan
• oven
• knife
• roasting pan
• kitchen thermometer
• slotted spoon
• cutting board
• peeler

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 475°F.
2. Heat a 17- by 11 1/2- by 2-inch flameproof roasting pan in upper third of oven 10 minutes.
3. Stir together oil, paprika, cayenne, and salt in a large bowl. Rinse hens and pat dry.
4. Remove any excess fat from opening of cavities and season cavities with salt and pepper. Tie drumsticks together if desired.
5. Brush some of spice oil over hens. Toss vegetables and caraway seeds in remaining spice oil to coat and transfer to hot roasting pan. Roast vegetables, uncovered, 25 minutes. Stir vegetables and arrange hens, breast sides up, on top. Roast 40 minutes, then baste hens with pan juices and roast 20 minutes more, or until a thermometer inserted in fleshy part of thigh registers 170°F.
6. Pour any juices from inside hens into pan.
7. Transfer hens to a cutting board and halve each lengthwise along backbone.
8. Transfer vegetables with a slotted spoon to a platter.
9. Sprinkle parsley over vegetables and top with hen pieces. Skim fat from pan juices and pour over hens. Stir together sour cream and water and serve on the side.
10. · It's much easier to peel celery root with a sharp paring knife than with a vegetable peeler. You may need to do some additional peeling around the root end.