Succulent roast chicken, delicately flavoured with parsley, lemon & garlic. Served with a side of gleaming, golden bulgur wheat full of fresh green asparagus, peas and mint. All the tastes of spring, in a beautifully light meal…

The other day, disaster struck.  I had bought a chicken, ready for a Sunday roast, but when the day dawned and I went to the fridge to begin preparations, I realised, with horror in my heart, that we had no potatoes.  It was a dark moment indeed, let me tell you.  The supermarket already shut, I had no option, but to consider alternative meals and to break it gently to my family that their Sunday roast would be a little different this week…

As luck would have it, everything turned out rather well.  I decided to roast the chicken anyway, but with a  lighter twist – something more fitting for spring.  I also had a whole load of asparagus in the fridge (thanks to our lovely friend Wendy, who brought it round for us after picking it up on her travels in Lincolnshire).

I tried to go for light, spring-like flavours and the end result was a beautiful alternative to the usual Sunday roast. We enjoyed it so much that I did it again today and I suspect it will become a firm favourite in the coming months of warmer weather.

Roast Chicken with Spring Vegetable & Bulgur Salad

Serves 4

For the Roast Chicken…

You will need:

1 medium chicken (approx 1.7k)

1 tbs olive oil

1 lemon

1 clove garlic

1 handful parsley

seasoning

• Pre-heat your oven to 180C
• Now take your chicken and rub the olive oil all over it – even underneath
• Cut your lemon into quarters and stuff them all, along with the parsley and garlic clove, inside the chicken
• Now season liberally and pop in a roasting tin and into the oven
• Roast for 20 mins per 1/2 kilo, plus another 20 mins
• Sit down and have a cuppa – you haven’t got anything else to do for a while yet! 🙂
• Once cooked, remove your chicken from the oven and cover in foil. Leave to rest for around 15 minutes (while you make your bulgur wheat salad!)

For the Spring Vegetable & Bulgur Salad…

You will need:

200g bulgur wheat

1/2 onion (or about 5 spring onions)

1 oz unsalted butter

500 ml chicken stock (or veg fine too)

1 bunch of asparagus

150 g peas (fresh or frozen!)

1 heaped tbs of chopped, fresh mint

• Melt the butter in a pan and then add your finely chopped onion and sauté gently until it has softened
• Now add your bulgur wheat and coat it in the melted butter and onion mix, cooking it for a couple of minutes
• Add your stock and once it has started to simmer, put the lid on and leave to simmer gently for 10-15 minutes, until the bulgur wheat has absorbed the liquid
• Meanwhile, steam your asparagus for about 5-10 minutes, until tender
• Add the peas to the bulgur wheat when there are about 5 minutes left so they have time to soften or defrost depending on which type you’re using
• Once the bulgur wheat has cooked, add in the asparagus (chopped into bite size pieces) and the chopped mint
• Fluff up with a couple of forks and you’re ready to serve your meal!

Enjoy with a glass of chilled white wine – or just keep it simple with a jug of iced water with a few sprigs of mint and slices of lemon.

The Calories

Lovely Leftovers

If you find yourself with a spot of the bulgur wheat salad and a bit of chicken left over then you can make yourself another tasty little meal in no time at all.  Just pick any leftover chicken from the bone and mix in with the salad along with some chopped tomato, salty chunks of feta and a good sprinkling of chilli flakes. It’s best served at room temperature and is a real little treat. 🙂