Laura Ross Russell
Laura Ross Russell reveals why every student should consider roasting a whole chicken on a Sunday – not for an elaborate dinner, but for the ultimate meal-prepping hack. While a traditional Sunday roast may feel like a luxury at uni, roasting just the chicken is a game-changer for budget-friendly, versatile meals throughout the week. From hearty sandwiches to creamy pastas and warming ramen, Laura shares her go-to recipes and tips for making the most of your roast and ultimately save money and time whilst eating well.
Many of us are lucky to come from families where a roast dinner on a Sunday is a sacred ritual, particularly in the autumn and winter months. At university, this habit often fades away – aside from the obligatory pre-Christmas roast with friends and maybe the odd Sunday roast when comfort food is calling.
I might be an outlier, but I roast a chicken pretty much every Sunday – only to save it for later. All in favour of every student’s least favourite phrase: meal prepping! Lots of people (myself included) find meal prepping frustratingly boring – nobody wants to be eating the same reheated meal 4 days in a row. That’s why ingredient prepping is becoming increasingly popular, and it’s also why I just roast a chicken (no sides), leaving me far more flexibility throughout the week.
It’s often easy to feel intimidated by a roast, but the trickiest part of a full roast dinner is always the timings: getting everything on the table at the same time is a real task. By roasting only the chicken, you eliminate much of the hassle and only need to set one timer.
By roasting an entire chicken, you also save a huge amount of money. A whole raw chicken tends to be between £4-7 on a supermarket shelf and will easily make enough chicken for lunch every day of the uni week. I haven’t done the maths, but I am certain that buying a chicken whole is cheaper than buying the breast, thighs, wings and legs separately.
With just one roast, you can set yourself up for an easy and delicious week ahead. Not only is this method budget-friendly, but it lets you experiment with different flavours each week. You can keep things really simple – just garlic, butter and salt – or try something more interesting.
My Go-To Roast Recipes
My default roast recipe is Ella Risbridger’s Midnight Chicken, which is super simple but always comes out deliciously moist and flavourful. You can find this in her first book, which is suitably titled Midnight Chicken, or handily there is an early version still on her blog from 2013. It is very simple and involves things you or your flatmates probably already have in the kitchen, even if you’re only slightly interested in cooking: garlic, butter, chillies, lemon, mustard, rosemary and thyme. Granted, you might need to pop to Sainsbury’s for the fresh herbs, but I promise you it is worth it.
This week, I’ve gone a little fancier, and have adapted Julius Roberts’ ‘Epic Tarragon Roast Chicken’ from The Farm Table, which has the most beautiful mustardy creamy sauce with it. I used mascarpone instead of double cream, as I had it in the fridge already, and it tasted incredible. I have to admit that I was somewhat surprised to realise how easy it is to spatchcock a chicken.
Another perk of spatchcocking a chicken is that you can easily cut the chicken in half, and then freeze the second half for the following week, which is ideal if the idea of having to make multiple recipes out of a whole chicken seems somewhat repetitive.
Making the most of your roast
On the day of roasting, reward your hard work by eating said chicken, but don’t do anything else too complicated. Perhaps chuck some cubed potatoes in the oven while your chicken is cooking and add some broccoli to roast whilst the chicken is resting. All of the joy of a roast, but with none of the faff.
The real challenge? Not eating it all at once. Keep your housemates’ mitts off and portion your chicken for the rest of the week. You can use the meat for lunches or dinners, and there are endless ways to mix it up. Lately, I’ve been eating:
- Couscous salad with rocket, sundried tomatoes, red onion, halloumi or feta and (of course!) roast chicken
- A proper chicken sandwich – trust me, every sandwich tastes better with homecooked meat instead of processed slices.
- Chicken and leek pie (or chicken and mushroom, or chicken and bacon– whatever you fancy or whatever is on special!)
- Orzo pasta with chicken, sundried tomatoes, spinach and lots of cheese. Very similar to a risotto but much quicker and easier to make.
- Chicken ramen – if you’re craving a pot noodle, do yourself a favour and spice it up with some roasted chicken, pak choi or broccoli and a boiled egg
- If you’re feeling particularly cheffy, boil down the chicken carcass with onion, vegetables and any woody herbs you have to make a rich, flavourful stock – perfect for your next pie or risotto
So if you’re already struggling with your New Year’s resolutions to eat well, spend less and finally start meal prepping, make Sundays your roast day. Your future self (and bank account) will thank you.
Laura Ross Russell
Featured image and article images courtesy of Laura Ross Russell.
For more content including Uni News, Reviews, Entertainment, Lifestyle, Features and so much more, follow us on Twitter and Instagram, and like our Facebook page for more articles and information on how to get involved.
If you just can’t get enough of Lifestyle, like our Facebook as a reader or contributor.
