A Pleasant Little Rotisserie Chicken Menu

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Post and images by guest blogger, Rebecca White, of A Pleasant Little Kitchen. 

Visit her full blog or find out more about her here. 

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It’s a question I often hear, and one that I always have an answer for:

“What types of dinners can I make from a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store?”

My response is always the same:

You can make SO many meals at all kinds of skill level. Soups! Lasagnas! Pizza! Salads! Taquitos!

Typically the question is two part though… what can I make from a rotisserie chicken and what can I make from a rotisserie chicken that is weeknight friendly (and let’s face it makes for great leftovers for the rest of the week). My answer never changes.

You can make SO many meals that are weeknight friendly from a rotisserie chicken.

From that point on the conversation varies depending on the person’s time availability, level of cooking skills and food preferences.

I tend to always insert one piece of advice though.

Get the rotisserie chicken from Market Street. It’s never dried out and there is a wonderful variety of seasoned rotisserie chickens that are nice to choose from that help enhance the flavors of the meal.

Lemon Pepper! Simply Seasoned! Garlic! Southwest!

Market Street knows how to cook a chicken.

Now, not knowing your particular level of cooking, food preferences and time available in the kitchen I want to share with you some of my favorite recipes that I enjoy making with a rotisserie chicken:

Linguini with Tomatoes and Chicken | weeknight | time in the kitchen: minimal

Hatch Chile Chicken Lasagna | weekend | time in the kitchen: more than average

Chicken Salad with Whole Grain Mustard and Thyme | weeknight | time in the kitchen: minimal

Chicken Red Pepper Soup | weeknight | time in the kitchen: average

One thing that all of these recipes have in common is that they make enough leftovers for the following night (or for lunch the next day).

Now, add a few of these recipes to your menu this week and pop over to Market Street to pick up a rotisserie chicken--or two, because they are the best in the city.

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Linguini with Chicken, Tomatoes and Garlic Oil

Author note: This dish is one that can be made in the time it takes the linguine to cook. This recipe serves 2 to 3 but could easily feed more by increasing the amount of extra-virgin olive oil, tomatoes and chicken. Feel free to increase the amount of garlic and cheese if a more vibrant flavor is desired. Red pepper flakes and fresh spinach would also make good additions to this dish.

  

Ingredients

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 small shallot, roughly chopped

5 garlic cloves, crushed

pinch of red pepper flakes (optional)

1 cup small tomatoes, halved (or larger tomatoes, diced)

1/4 tsp kosher salt

1 cup rotisserie chicken

1/4 cup pasta water

1/2 cup grated Pecorino Romano (or Parmesan)

handful of linguine noodles (enough for 2 to 3 servings)

lemon zest

kosher salt

 

Directions

1. Fill a medium sized pan with water and bring to boil, pour a generous amount of kosher salt into the water and add the linguine. Cook the pasta to al dente according to the package's directions and reserve ¼ cup of pasta water.

2. Meanwhile, add the oil, garlic and shallots (and red pepper if using) to a medium-sized saute pan and cook over medium-low heat. Cook for about 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent the garlic from burning.

3. Next, add the tomatoes to the garlic oil and cook for an additional 5-8 minutes.

4. Then, reduce the heat to low and add the chicken, pasta water and cheese. Stir well to combine and continue to heat through.

5. Once the pasta is cooked to al dente, add the linguine to the saute pan. Stir well to coat the noodles with the garlic oil.

6. Divide the linguine, chicken and tomatoes between 2 or 3 bowls, spoon the remaining garlic oil over each dish and then top with freshly grated lemon zest.

 

Hatch Chile Chicken Lasagna

Author note: For a more laid back approach to lasagna, this recipe can be broken down into two days of cooking. Cook the sauce and prep the chicken on day one. Make the béchamel and build the lasagna on day two. Use a rotisserie chicken from your local grocery store to make the cooking process a bit easier. Depending on how cheesy you prefer lasagna, feel free to add more parmesan and fontina cheese. Be sure to evenly distribute all components of the lasagna.

 

for the lasagna

Ingredients

Hatch chile tomato sauce (recipe below)

Hatch-lime chicken (recipe below)

béchamel (recipe below)

lasagna noodles, cooked

1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated

1/2 cup fontina cheese, grated

2 cups of mozzarella, grated

1 cup cilantro (and more for topping), chopped

lime wedges for serving

 

Directions

1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees

2. In a 9x13 baking dish add a thin layer of tomato sauce.

3. Place a layer of cooked lasagna on top of the tomato sauce (be sure to cover the whole pan).

4. Evenly spread a layer of béchamel on top of the pasta.

5. Add a layer of Hatch-lime chicken on top of the béchamel.

6. Sprinkle a layer of cilantro on top of the béchamel.

7. Evenly distribute a portion of the cheeses on top of the cilantro.

8. Finish with a layer of Hatch tomato sauce.

9. Repeat all steps beginning with step number 2.

10. Add a final layer of pasta, red sauce, béchamel, parmesan, fontina and mozzarella.

11. Place in the oven and bake for 30 minutes. In the final five minutes, turn the oven to broil at 500 degrees and cook until the top of the lasagna is browned, up to 5 minutes.

12. Top with chopped cilantro and serve with lime wedges.

 

for the Hatch chile tomato sauce

Ingredients

28 ounces crushed tomatoes

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon kosher salt

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 cup roasted Hatch green chiles, chopped (skins and seeds removed)

2 garlic cloves, crushed

1/2 onion

 

Directions

1. Place all ingredients into a saucepan. Simmer for 35-45 minutes. Salt to taste. Set aside.

 

for the Hatch-lime chicken

Ingredients

4 cups rotisserie chicken, chopped

1 1/2 cups Hatch green chiles, chopped (skins and seeds removed)

1 jalapeno, stem removed, seeded and chopped

1/2 teaspoon cayenne

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

juice of 1 lime

 

Directions

1. Place all ingredients into a bowl. Stir well to incorporate. Set aside.

 

for the béchamel

Ingredients

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

3 tablespoons flour

2 cups whole milk, warmed

3/4 cups Hatch green chiles, chopped (skin and seeds removed)

pinch of cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon kosher salt

 

Directions

1. In a medium-sized sauce pan, melt the butter on medium heat. Once melted, whisk in the flour. Continue to whisk until the roux (the butter flour combination) is golden.

2. Pour in the warmed milk and continue to whisk. Simmer until the béchamel is thickened, about 5 to 10 minutes. Stir frequently to prevent the béchamel from burning.

3. Add the chiles, cinnamon, cumin and salt. Stir well to incorporate. Decrease the heat to low.

 

Chicken Salad with Whole Grain Mustard and Thyme

Ingredients

4 cups rotisserie chicken, cut into bite sized chunks

1/2 cup red onion, diced

2 teaspoons fresh thyme

2 tablespoons whole grain mustard

1/3 cup toasted pine nuts (toasted optional)

1 tablespoon sherry vinegar

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

 

Directions

1. Combine all the ingredients and stir to combine. Serve on crusty bread or by itself.

 

Chicken Red Pepper Soup

Serves 6-8

Author note: The addition of cornmeal makes this soup heartier than your average soup. While this soup may appear to be spicy, it has only a low heat element. This soup is a perfect make-ahead meal because it reheats nicely. If you prefer a meatless soup, omit the chicken and top with a runny egg.

  

Ingredients

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 jalapeno or serrano, seeded and quartered

1 garlic clove, quartered

1 4 ounce can hatch green chiles

1 small yellow onion, quartered

1 green bell pepper, seeded and quartered

2 red bell peppers, seeded

1 14 ounce can unsalted diced tomatoes

2 ¼ teaspoons kosher salt

½ teaspoon oregano

2 teaspoons cumin

2 teaspoons chili powder

1 bay leaf

6 cups low-sodium chicken stock

2/3 cup cornmeal

3 cups rotisserie chicken, shredded and chopped

cilantro, chopped, for topping

plain yogurt, sour cream or for topping

lime wedges, for topping

 

Directions

1. Place the olive oil in a large pan and bring to medium-high heat.

2. Meanwhile, in a food processor puree the jalapeno (or serrano), garlic, green chiles, onion, green bell pepper and 1 quartered red bell pepper.

3. Add the pureed vegetables to the heated oil and cook for 10 minutes.

4. While the vegetables cook, seed and dice the remaining red bell pepper.

5. Add the diced bell pepper to the pureed vegetables and cook until tender (about 3 minutes)

6. Next add the tomatoes, salt, oregano, cumin, chili powder and bay leaf to the pureed vegetables. Simmer for 10 minutes.

7. Add the chicken stock, bring to a boil and boil for 10 minutes.

8. Remove 2 cups of the soup to a large bowl. Slowly whisk in the cornmeal into the hot soup, whisk well.

9. Slowly whisk the cornmeal mixture back into the soup. Whisk the soup until the soup is smooth and there are no cornmeal clumps.

10. Simmer on low for 30 minutes. Stir frequently to prevent the cornmeal from sticking to the bottom of the pan.

11. With 10 minutes remaining, place the shredded chicken into the soup and heat through.

12. Top with cilantro, sour cream and spritz of fresh lime juice. Serve warm.