ROASTED WHOLE CHICKEN BREASTS WITH GREEN STUFFING

Steps:

• 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 425°F
• 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 375°F
• 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