Herbed Matzo-Stuffed Roast Chicken

2 tablespoons olive oil, plus extra

1 medium yellow onion, diced

4 ribs celery, finely chopped

4 ounces button mushrooms, sliced

2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme

1 teaspoon dried basil

5 sheets (5 ounces) salted matzo, crumbled

Chicken broth

Kosher salt and ground black pepper

5-pound whole chicken

Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Coat a 13-by-18-inch baking pan with cooking oil.

In a large skillet over medium-high, heat the oil. Add the onion, celery and mushrooms and cook until lightly browned, 5-7 minutes. Add the oregano, parsley, thyme and basil and cook for another minute. Add the crumbled matzo. Stir well, sprinkling in just enough broth to make a moist stuffing, about ½ cup. Season with salt and pepper, then spread the stuffing evenly in the prepared baking pan.

Place the chicken on the cutting board with the breast down. On one side of the backbone, use kitchen shears to carefully cut from the neck hole down the length of the backbone and out the rump. This will require a little effort, but the shears should cut through the bones without too much difficulty. Repeat the cut along the other side of the backbone, removing and discarding it.

Spread open the chicken, exposing the cavity, then overturn the bird and set it over the stuffing in the pan. Season under the skin with salt and pepper. Rub the outside of the skin with olive oil, then season with salt and pepper. Roast for 1 hour to 1 hour and 10 minutes, or until a thermometer inserted in the thigh reads 165 degrees. If the chicken browns too quickly, cover it with foil.

Serves six.

Nutrition values per serving: 710 calories, 45 g fat (12 g saturated), 24 g carbohydrate, 2 g fiber, 2 g sugar, 50 g protein, 185 mg cholesterol, 580 mg sodium.

J.M. Hirsch, The Associated Press