Roast Chicken

Buying a whole chicken to roast from the supermarket is a much more cost-effective way of having chicken if you like all the different parts of the chicken. I personally prefer the leg, thigh and wing meat to the breast but all the chicken you can get off this roast is great to use throughout the week once you've had your Sunday Roast. I had a portion of chicken the night I cooked it and then set most of it aside for a chicken pie the following night (recipe to follow!) and the rest of it I have frozen to use in sandwiches or to make chicken stir fry with next week. I highly recommend buying a whole chicken as it will go a long way and I find the meat to be so much more moist, tender and flavoursome. 

I have done a post on roast chicken before here: www.eatrainbowlove.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/roast-chicken.html so this will be pretty similar but thought I would do another one just to encourage everyone to roast their own chicken because it is a lot easier than you may think and will leave you with lots of delicious meat which will transform your meals for the following week!

You will need

- whole medium (or large) chicken
- olive oil
- 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
- dried mixed herbs
- herb and spice blend for chicken (or just salt, pepper, paprika)

1. Pre-heat the oven to 190 degrees.

2. Place the chicken in a roasting dish and brush with a generous amount of olive oil

3. Coat with the crushed garlic and sprinkle with the herbs and spices.

4. Cover with foil and roast in the oven for an hour, then baste the chicken (brush with the juices in the bottom of the roasting dish) then return to the oven for another 45 minutes with the foil still on. (Cooking time will vary depending on size)

5. Rest for a few minutes before carving and serving, then you can enjoy a delicious roast chicken dishes and roast chicken sandwiches for the rest of the week!

Enjoy :)