Sheet pan simplicity
With one dish and fast prep, the method renders juicy meats and caramelized veggies
When Molly Gilbert’s cookbook “Sheet Pan Suppers” ( Workman, $15.95) was published in 2015, I fell in love with her one- dish meals, concoctions created on a single rimmed baking sheet. Of course, slow cookers can be one-pot culinary heroes, but I appreciate that sheet pan cookery creates dishes that aren’t slow- cooker soupy.
Roasting, broiling or baking on a rimmed baking sheet produces irresistible textures that work hand-in-hand with an upturn in flavor.
Meats are juicy and tender, vegetables are caramelized and slightly sweetened, and spuds are crisp and nicely browned. It’s an easy, hands- off method.
The right pan is important. I own four of them. They “live” in the lower of my two ovens and are used almost daily for a variety of culinary chores. Often known as “half sheets” or “rimmed baking sheets,” sheet pans are sturdy, rectangular pans with a 1-inch lip around the sides.
Those shallow sides let hot air from the oven circulate and crisp the foods’ exteriors. Although restaurant pans can be ginormous, home size is usually 13 by 18 inches.
I agree with Gilbert that those without a nonstick
coating work the best. For easier cleanup, the pan can be lined with parchment paper, but it’s not mandatory.
An accurate oven temperature ensures the best results. Your oven may be a sneak. It may take a long time to preheat, especially due to high temperatures generally required for sheet pan feasts. It may also lie about how hot it is. Buy an inexpensive oven thermometer and put it inside; set your oven to 350 degrees and have a look at the thermometer to see how hot it is. Adjust your settings to compensate if there is a discrepancy.
I’ve chosen three recipes for sheet pan dinners that we enjoy. They are dishes that get rave reviews from kids and adults alike. So, simplify dinnertime with dishes that most people will love, especially the cook.
Turkey sausage with acorn squash and red onions
This dish weighs in with a lovely balance of tantalizing flavors. Sweet turkey Italian sausages roast with skin-on slices of acorn squash and thin wedges of red onion. The squash and onions get a welcome amount of sweet caramelization, contrasting nicely with the juicy snap of the sausages. A thin coating of cheese (grated Parmesan or, for a sharper contrast, Asiago) melts atop it all during a last three minutes of broiling. Out of the oven, chopped dried cherries or cranberries add an additional bit of flavor harmony. Yield: 4 servings
INGREDIENTS
1 medium-large acorn squash, halved, seeded, cut crosswise into 1⁄4-inch thick slices 1 medium-large red onion, halved top to bottom, cut into 1⁄2-inch crosswise slices or wedges 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste 5 sweet turkey Italian sausages, 15-16 ounces
1⁄2 cup grated Parmesan cheese or Asiago cheese 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh sage leaves
1⁄4 cup dried cranberries or cherries, coarsely chopped
PROCEDURE
1. Adjust oven rack to middle position. If possible in your oven, arrange a second rack about 8 inches from the broiler element. Preheat oven to 475 degrees.
2. On rimmed baking sheet, toss squash and onion with oil. Spread out into single layer (most important for squash to be flat on the pan, not so much for the onions). Season with salt and pepper. Add sausages. Place on center rack in preheated oven. Roast about 17-19 minutes or until squash is tender. 3. Remove from oven.
Adjust oven rack to 8 inches below broiler element, if you didn’t do so in Step 1. Turn on broiler. Sprinkle cheese and sage over vegetables and place pan on rack under broiler. Broil until cheese is melted and bubbling, about 3-4 minutes. Sprinkle cranberries or cherries on top.
Chicken thighs with tomatoes, potatoes, olives and feta
Bone-in and skin-on chicken thighs are one of the best buys in the meat case. In this sheet pan dish, those tasty thighs pair with pitted green olives, Baby Dutch Yellow potatoes, shallots and fresh thyme. Crumbled feta cheese and fresh mint are added as a tasty garnish. I’m not a big fan of raw grape tomatoes as a general rule due to their thick walls and lack of juiciness. But roasted along with the chicken, they are just-right delicious.
Yield: 4 servings
INGREDIENTS
8 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs; see cook’s notes 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 1⁄2 cups grape tomatoes 1⁄2 cup pitted green olives, such as Castelvetrano 12 Baby Dutch Yellow potatoes
5 medium shallots, halved lengthwise
3 sprigs fresh thyme
Salt (or seasoned salt) and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1⁄3 cup crumbled feta cheese
About 8 fresh mint leaves, torn into small pieces
Cook’s notes: I like to trim away excess chicken skin that hangs over the side of the meat on some thighs and discard it. I use kitchen scissors to make quick work of it.
PROCEDURE
1. Adjust oven rack to middle position. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. In large bowl, combine chicken, oil, grape tomatoes, olives, potatoes, shallots and thyme. Add salt (or seasoned salt) and pepper. Toss the mix to coat with oil. Place on rimmed baking sheet, arranging chicken skin-side up. Roast about 45 minutes or until chicken registers 165 degrees in thickest part on an instant read thermometer (without touching bone).
3. Transfer to dinner plates and top each serving with the feta and mint.
Fajita flank steak with peppers and onions
This is scrumptious served as a filling in warm tortillas with optional garnishes, such as sliced avocado and cotija cheese. Before it makes its way atop a sheet
pan, the meat is marinated for several hours in a garlicky, lime-scented mixture. Some of that tasty marinade is reserved (not used for marinating meat) and used to blanket the colorful, sliced bell peppers and onions before they are roasted. An instant-read thermometer is a handy tool to have on hand; you will want to broil the steak just long enough to reach 125 degrees for rare or 135 degrees for medium-rare.
Yield: 4-6 servings INGREDIENTS
2 1⁄2 pounds flank steak 4 cloves garlic, minced
1⁄4 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1⁄4 cup fresh lime juice
(from 2-4 limes)
1 tablespoon ground cumin 1 tablespoon chili powder 1 tablespoon sugar
1⁄4 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Olive oil cooking spray and aluminum foil
4 bell peppers (any color), stemmed, seeded, thinly sliced
1 yellow onion, thinly sliced For serving: 8-12 small (6inch) tortillas (flour or corn) Garnishes: 1⁄4 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves, sour cream, salsa, sliced avocado and crumbled (or grated) cotija cheese or queso fresco
PROCEDURE
1. Place flank steak in a large, zipper-style bag or shallow glass baking dish. In a small bowl, whisk together garlic, olive oil, Worcestershire sauce, lime juice, cumin, chili powder, sugar, pepper flakes and salt. Reserve 1⁄4 cup of marinade for the vegetables and pour the rest over steak. Seal bag or covered dish and refrigerate for 2-12 hours.
2. When you are ready to cook, preheat oven to 450 degrees with one rack about 4 inches from the broiler, another rack in the center position and another in the bottom position. Line a sheet pan with aluminum foil and mist it with cooking spray.
3. Toss peppers and onion with reserved 1⁄4 cup marinade in a large bowl and spread them evenly on prepared pan. Roast on center rack until softened and starting to brown, 10-15 minutes. Remove from oven and turn the oven to broil. 4. Wrap a stack of tortillas in aluminum foil and set it aside.
5. Push peppers and onion to perimeter of the pan. Remove steak from marinade, allow any excess liquid to drip off the meat and place it in center of pan surrounded with vegetables (discard marinade). Place pan on top rack and broil the steak, flipping it once, until it begins to char on the outside and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the meat registers 125 degrees for rare or 135 degrees for medium rare, about 4-5 minutes per side. 6. While the steak cooks, place the foil-wrapped tortillas on the bottom rack to warm through. Once the steak finishes cooking, remove pan from oven and turn oven off. Leave tortillas in oven to continue warming while the steak rests.
7. Allow steak to rest, loosely covered with foil, for 10 minutes before slicing it thinly against the grain. Sprinkle with cilantro. Serve the steak warm with peppers, onions and warm tortillas. Pass the salsa, sour cream, avocado and cheese at the table.
Source: “Sheet Pan Suppers” by Molly Gilbert (Workman, $15.95)