Take 1 Chicken, Meal 1 of 3

I have this thing about roast chicken. Maybe it’s something from my childhood but the smell of a roasting chicken in the oven makes me feel like a Bisto kid when I walk into a house. It’s the ultimate Sunday roast for me, and I normally cook it once or twice a fortnight. Most people don’t realise how frugal a roast chicken can be, maybe because they throw away the carcass after the main event (the roast dinner) or perhaps because they just see the initial cost of buying a chicken. Have you figured out that if you’re careful a roast chook will last for 3 meals?

You can expect to pay between €3-€5 for a whole medium chicken in supermarkets and butchers. If you are careful about how you treat the chicken, you will be able to eke out your meal and be left with very little food waste as a bonus. The vegetables mentioned here are only suggestions; make the most of the offers available where you shop, and buy what’s in season. Using value ranges in the shops at the moment, the list of ingredients below will cost you under €9.50. Considering you will get 2 main meals and 1 lunch for 5 people from these ingredients that will cost you under €0.63 per portion.

So here’s the plan. Purchase the items on the shopping list below; and over the next week, I’ll share the 3 meals that you’ll get from 1 roast chicken. 

Your Shopping List

• 1 medium whole chicken
• 600g carrots
• 200g frozen peas
• 200g frozen sweetcorn
• 1.5kg potatoes
• 1 large onion
• 1 butternut squash
• 500g spaghetti

Store Cupboard Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon thyme
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Chopped sage (optional)

Meal 1: Roast Chicken Dinner (serves 5)

Ingredients

• 1 whole chicken
• 750g potatoes
• 300g carrots
• 100g frozen peas
• 100g frozen sweetcorn

Couple your roast chicken with mashed or roast potatoes, steamed carrots, peas and sweetcorn. If you’re unsure how to roast a chicken, find my tips & tricks for simple roast chicken here.

I’ll publish recipe 2 on Tuesday. This will give you time to get that roast chicken into the house & cooked if you’re interested in joining in!

There are plenty more recipes on how to eke out a whole chicken in my book: Wholesome. It’s discounted on Amazon at the moment and to buy; just click here. It is also available directly from my publishers, Mercier Press for €15 including postage.

This is an amended version of a piece I wrote for The Irish Independent Digital Edition in May 2014.