Roast chicken is, in my opinion, the best dinner ever—full stop. Not only does it taste incredible, but it’s versatile: One chicken can become a week’s worth of dinners, a few days of lunches, and, eventually, it can simmer down into stock for soup. It’s the meal prepper’s dream. Below, you’ll find a particularly adaptable roast chicken recipe, a few ways to use it, and a knockout side dish. 

Ingredients:
1 chicken 
1 bunch rosemary 
1 lemon, cut in half
5–6 garlic cloves
2 large onions, chopped into medallions
Oil (preferably olive)
Salt 
Pepper 
Optional spices:
Cayenne
Steak spice
Paprika

1. Preheat oven to 425°F.
2. Pat the chicken dry with paper towels. Season with salt and let sit for 30 minutes to allow salt to permeate. 
3. Give the chicken a coating of oil and rub it to ensure that it’s fully coated. 
4. Season with other spices and herbs to give an even coating. 
5. Bruise the rosemary with the blunt side of a knife and place inside the chicken cavity along with two cloves of garlic and a lemon slice. 
6. Lay onion medallions flat on bottom of skillet or sheet pan. (If using a sheet pan, only cover the area where the chicken will be). 
7. Put the chicken on top of onions. Place lemon cut-side down on the pan (not on onions) and add two to three cloves of garlic around the outside. 
8. Roast for 60 minutes. Let sit for 30 minutes before carving. 

Smashed potatoes

Anyone can roast veggies, but if you’re looking to upgrade your basic potatoes as a side for chicken or on its own, smashed potatoes are the way to go. This extra bit of effort yields a dish with all the best qualities of both roasted and mashed potatoes. 

1 lb baby potatoes 
Salt 
Pepper 
Oil 

1. Preheat oven to 425°F. 
2. Fill a large pot halfway with water and bring to a boil. 
3. Wash potatoes and add to pot. Let boil for 30-40 minutes until potatoes are soft, but not entirely mushy. You should be able to flatten a potato without it crumbling. 
4. Drain water and cover potatoes with oil and season with salt and pepper. The potatoes will be hot so use caution and, if needed, wait for them to cool. 
5. Once potatoes are cooled and seasoned, place on a baking tray. Using a wooden spoon, press down on each potato to flatten it so that the outside crumbles a little, but the potato remains mostly intact. Alternatively, to smash them all at once, use a second baking tray to push down, flattening them all. 
6. Roast again for 15-20 minutes until the outsides are crisp and golden. Serve warm alongside roast chicken.

Quick Leftover Fixes

Chicken BLT

1 chicken breast (roasted)
2 slices of bread 
Bacon
Lettuce 
Tomato 

Toast the bread and butter each side. Put the bread butter-side down on a pan on medium heat until it’s golden brown. Assemble the BLT with chicken on top. 

Chicken stock

1 leftover chicken carcass 
2 carrots, sliced into medallions 
2 stalks of celery, sliced, with greens
2 tbsp salt
Pepper 

Place the chicken in a large pot and cover with cold water. Bring to a simmer. Add veggies, salt, and pepper and let simmer for two hours until broth has a pale colour. Use a pair of tongs to remove the larger pieces of vegetables and chicken, then strain to remove everything else. This dish can be stored frozen for months.