Roasted Cornish Hens with Vegetables

Ingredients:

• 3 (1 1/2-pounds) Cornish Hens
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 3 sprigs fresh rosemary
• 12 cloves garlic
• 1 pound baby carrots
• 1 pound small roasting potatoes (new potatoes or fingerling), washed and unpeeled
• 1 pound brussel sprouts, washed and halved
• 1/2 pound pearls onions
• 1 teaspoon fennel seeds

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. In a small bowl, stir together oil, salt, pepper and cayenne. Rinse the hens and pat dry. Remove excess fat and season the cavity with some salt and pepper. Stuff each hen with a sprig of rosemary and 4 garlic cloves. Tie the legs together if desired. Brush the hens thoroughly with spiced oil. Toss vegetables with fennel seeds and the remaining of spiced oil until well mixed, then transfer to roasting pan.
• Bake the vegetables uncovered in the oven for about 20 minutes. Stir vegetables and arrange hens, placing them on top of the vegetables, breast side up. Roast for another 30 minutes, stir the vegetables and baste the hens with the juice. Continue roasting until the meat thermometer inserted in  fleshy part of the thigh registers 170 degrees F. 
• Transfer the hens to the carving board, remove garlics and rosemary from the cavities, and halve each lengthwise along backbones. Serve with the roasted vegetables and drizzle with more juice.