Alternative Sunday lunch ideas with a roast chicken

[quirkyquerty]

I've bought a lovely big chicken from my butcher, but don't fancy doing all the trimmings today and would like something s bit lighter. Can't be a chicken salad as I have a fussy two year old and also a four year old to feed.

I thought maybe roast chicken, cous cous, hummus... but all sounding a bit bland and dry!

Wraps?
Chicken lasagne?
Curry?
Hotpot?

www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/chicken_bastilla_07910

Have you ever had one of these OP? Great for leftovers too. You can make a load of them for lunches - sometimes I make mini ones for myself!

We cook a lot of persian food too. We do rice with blanched almonds and cranberries and a load of salad with a big fat chicken cooked with different spices.

There is a Nigella recipe for chicken roasted w peppers, leeks, olives that is really nice.

Or another Nigella one with miso, sesame seeds that my kids love (caramelised snd salty) - you could serve w rice snd broccoli/ green beans.

Or make a brick chicken when you spatchcock it and cook on barbeque (try Barefoot Contessa).

Sorry - should have said - the brick goes on top if the chicken and squashes it so it’s in contact with the grill…..

Forget my boring ideas, go with @Xtraincome , that looks bloody lush!

Ottolenghi chicken soffrito is amazing - it needs a bloody massive pan to do a whole chicken though.

This is delicious:

www.sainsburysmagazine.co.uk/recipes/mains/coronation-chicken-pilaf-salad

Nigella's chicken in orzo or her mothers praised chicken?

Diana Henry has a recipe for paprika roast chicken with pickled cucumber, caraway new potatoes and sour cream which is good

Roast it and serve with good Greek salad.

With your couscous, do a roast tomato sauce. Roughly chop onion garlic red pepper. Add lots of olive oil. Roast til soft (20mins ish). Add cherry tomatoes or any other ripe tomatoes. Roast another 5 mins. The put all the veg in the blender to get a rich roast veg salsa that goes well with couscous

Nigella's salt and pepper potatoes.

Or make 3 times cooked chips from scratch.

Given the weather, I’d spatchcock it, marinade and bbq it. Cous cous salad and grilled corn on the side.

I was just about to suggest Nigella's chicken with lemon and orzo.

Keep it simple...chicken & chips with mayonnaise!

Beer chicken with wedges and corn on the cob
Nandos style chicken?

Roast it with lots of butter (like almost half a pack), lemon, garlic and thyme. Remove the cooked chicken from the tray to rest, strain the juices and stir double cream into whatever is left. Add seasoning and more lemon juice to taste and warm through. Makes a delicious and very easy sauce. Can just serve with new potatoes and a bit of green veg.

I like to spatchcock a chicken, cover it in whichever spices or marinade I feel like, and then roast it in a tray on a wire rack.

In the same tray as the chicken, cook wedges under the rack. All of the flavours drip down as the wedges cook.

Goes well with wraps or flatbreads and salad etc.

You need an enormous Le Creuset to make the chicken in orzo. I don’t have one big enough and I’m sure most other people don’t either.

Roast it and serve with corn on the cob and coleslaw or slice it and serve in warm crusty baguettes (the part baked ones) with whatever condiments/additions you like.

I did a really lovely chicken last night. Sprinkled in sea salt, lemon zest and fresh rosemary under it, inside it and on top of the skin, with chunks of leek, red and yellow pepper and courgette tossed in oil, garlic and mild chilli flakes (pul biber). 15-20 mins before the end, I added cherry tomatoes and asparagus.

All came out crisp and fresh and tasted very spring like. Had it with minty couscous. The juices from the chicken and veg made good couscous gravy.

Thought of another one - Jamie Oliver has a recipe for pot roast sweet and sour chicken with a whole chicken - it is lovely and very kid friendly. I am going to make that today now!! From the very first Naked Chef book…..

My go to summer roast chicken is to serve it with crushed new potatoes with lemon and garlic butter, spring greens stir fried with spring onions, petit pois and mint and, carrots mixed with tarragon or roasted carrots with some honey and olive oil. I also make a light gravy/jus for the chicken.

When I can't be bothered with all the hot trimmings I have it with coleslaw, nice bread, loads of salted butter, maybe some small cooled potatoes.

You could put a tandoori or tikka marinade on it then have with rice and a quick veggie curry. Or with some Indian breads.

The Roasting Tin recipe for chicken with chorizo and corn - my kids love this one

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