Meal Planning: Meal Ideas With Roasted Chicken

Keep Calm and Roast a Chicken: A Simple and Comforting Recipe

It’s supposed to be sunny and warm outside—it’s mid-May in California, after all. The sun is coming, we just have to wait several more days. For now, keep calm and roast a chicken! There is something so satisfying about knowing how to roast a chicken. It’s simple, comforting, and can produce meals for days and broth for weeks.

Why Zuni Café’s Roast Chicken Recipe Is a Must-Try

Zuni Cafe’s late Chef Judy Rodgers is credited for this easy technique for Roast Chicken (NYT Cooking has her recipe as well as this one from Food and Wine), and it’s easy to replicate at home. You do need to plan ahead and make sure to salt that chicken the day before. And the old saying goes—you get what you pay for. Buy the very best whole chicken you can afford. It will pay dividends with the meat and the quality of the broth. Some chickens have a nice clean poultry flavor, and some just do not.

How to Make the Most of Your Roast Chicken: 3 Delicious Meal Ideas

This chicken gets a lot of use! Here are three ways to enjoy it:

1. Meal #1: Serve cut-up chicken with roasted veggies and a side salad.
2. Meal #2: Shred the chicken for tacos with black bean and corn salsa or use it as the star of a cobb salad.
3. Meal #3: Use the homemade broth to make risotto with herbs and mascarpone.

The Secret to Delicious Homemade Chicken Stock

When I have enough chicken bones in the freezer, I make my delicious chicken stock. It’s a great base for many future recipes. In cooking school, I learned the best chicken stock is a neutral stock—one without garlic, ginger, or even salt. This way, it can be used for a variety of dishes and seasoned appropriately according to the intended dish.

Stock Up on Homemade Chicken Stock for Future Recipes

In true wannabe Barefoot Contessa style, quart containers of chicken stock live in my freezer, and it makes me happy knowing they are there. Having homemade stock on hand ensures you’re always ready for a nourishing meal.

Cheers,

Christina