Roasted Whole Chicken Breasts With Green Stuffing
- 3 whole chicken breasts, not split (preferably organic)
- 1 lb Baby Spinach, stemmed and washed
- 1 head garlic
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon coarse salt
- 1/4 teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg
- 1 cup fresh basil leaf, stemmed and washed
- 2 lemons
- 1/4 cup sweet butter
- 1 1/2 cups dry white wine
- 2 lbs red potatoes
- 1/2 lb shiitake mushroom, cleaned and woody stems removed,thinly sliced
- 1/2 - 1 cup chicken stock
- salt and pepper
- Prepare medium sized roasting pan with rack by coating rack with olive oil (should be a roasting pan no larger than necessary to hold the three breasts and that can be placed on top of the stove for making the sauce)
- Peel and roughly chop 4 cloves of garlic
- Roughly chop spinach
- Tear basil into small pieces
- Place large skillet over high heat
- When hot, add 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, chopped garlic, salt, spinach and basil
- Grate fresh nutmeg into skillet
- Stir fry until greeens are wilted and soft
- Remove from heat and set aside to cool
- Clean chicken breasts and remove any obvious clumps of fat or protruding skin
- Preheat oven to 425u0b0F
- With your fingers, gently loosen skin from flesh of the chicken breasts
- Again, gently, stuff greens mixture between the skin and the flesh of the breasts
- Massage the surface of the breasts to evenly distribute the stuffing
- Cut each lemon in half lengthwise (stem to end)
- Rub the outside of the chicken breasts with butter
- Squeeze the juice of one half of one lemon over the breasts and sprinkle the breasts with salt and pepper
- Split the whole head of garlic into cloves; do not peel
- Scatter the garlic gloves in the bottom of the roasting pan
- Scrub potatoes; do not peel
- If very small, leave whole; if larger, cut in half
- Scatter potatoes in the bottom of the roasting pan
- Place the three whole breasts, skin side down, on the oiled rack
- Place a lemon half in the cavity of each breast
- Roast 20 minutes
- Baste with a third of the white wine
- Carefully (without tearing the skin of the breast if possible) turn breast skin side up, placing lemon in cavity beneath each breast
- Baste with pan juices
- Roast another 20 minutes
- Turn oven down to 375u0b0F
- Baste with pan juices; if there is not sufficient liquid in the pan, add more white wine and/or water
- Roast another 10-12 minutes
- Check for doneness
- Remove from oven; tent with foil and allow to rest for at least ten to fifteen minutes
- Remove excess fat from pan (there should be very little)
- Remove potatoes and keep warm
- Remove garlic cloves and squeeze out roasted garlic into the roasting pan
- Place pan on stovetop over medium heat
- Add mushrooms and allow to saute without stirring for 1 - 2 minutes
- Turn mushrooms and saute another minute
- Turn heat to high and add remaining wine and 1/2 to 1 cup of chicken broth
- Scrape to deglaze and simmer until slightly reduced
- Taste for seasoning
- (Optional) Whisk in 1 - 2 Tablespoons of butter
- Note: This is lovely served on a bed of steamed fresh spinach
chicken breasts, garlic, garlic, extra virgin olive oil, coarse salt, nutmeg, fresh basil leaf, lemons, sweet butter, white wine, red potatoes, shiitake mushroom, chicken stock, salt
Taken from www.food.com/recipe/roasted-whole-chicken-breasts-with-green-stuffing-116370 (may not work)