Busy? I bet you love one-dish dinners, concoctions created on a single rimmed baking sheet. Of course, slow cookers can be 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 more flavor. Meats are juicy and tender; vegetables are caramelized and subtly sweetened. It’s an easy, hands-off method.
The pan is important. I own four of them. They “live” in the lower of my two ovens and are used almost daily for some culinary chore. Often known as “half sheets” or “rimmed baking sheets,” sheet pans are sturdy rectangular pans with a 1-inch lip on the four sides. Those shallow sides let hot air from the oven circulate and crisp the ingredients’ exteriors. Although restaurant-sized they can be ginormous, home-use size is usually 13-by-18-inches.
I’ve chosen recipes for three one-dish sheet pan dinners that I enjoy. They are dishes that get rave reviews from kids and adults alike.
Sheet Pan Fajita Flank Steak with Peppers and Onions
This Fajita Flank Steak with Peppers and Onions 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 garlicy, lime-scented mixture. Some of that tasty marinade is reserved and not used for marination; it’s 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 boil the steak just long enough to reach 125 degrees for rare, or 135 degrees for medium-rare.
Yield: 4 to 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 to 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
4 bell peppers (any color), stemmed, seeded, thinly slices
1 yellow onion, thinly sliced
For serving: 8 to 12 small (6-inch) 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
DIRECTIONS
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 cover dish and refrigerate for 2 to 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 to 15 minutes. Remove from oven and set 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 3 to 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)
Sheet Pan Sumac-Dusted Salmon with Broccolini
The flavor bonus that ground sumac brings to salmon is a delight. Sumac is a spice that adds a tangy citrusy flavor, along with a fruity aroma. In addition to using it atop fish, it is also delicious with chicken, avocados, and salads. They stock it at my local supermarket (Morton and Bassett brand) but it is also sold online.
Yield: 4 servings
INGREDIENTS
6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon ground sumac, plus more for serving
2 teaspoons minced garlic (from 1 to 2 cloves)
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
12 ounces broccolini, trimmed
3 clementines, mandarin oranges, or tangerines, peel on, quartered
4 skin-on salmon fillets (each 1-inch thick)
3 ounces feta, crumbled (3/4 cup)
1 cup mixed tender herbs, such as cilantro, mint, and parsley
DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat broiler with rack 6 inches from broiler element. In a small bowl, stir together oil, sumac, garlic, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. On a rimmed baking sheet, toss broccolini and oranges with 3 tablespoons sumac mixture. Season with salt and pepper; spread into a single layer.
2. Broil, turning once, until it begins to brown in places, 4 to 5 minutes. Season fish with salt and pepper; brush with remaining sumac mixture.
3. Push broccolini and oranges to one side of the sheet pan; add fish to other side, skin-sides down. Broil until salmon is cooked through, 5 minutes more. If salmon needs additional cooking, remove the other ingredients from the sheet pan. Turn the broiler off and set the oven to 350 degrees and return salmon to the oven on a middle rack to bake an additional 4 or 5 minutes.
4. Squeeze some clementine or tangerine or mandarin juice over everything. Serve topped with feta and herbs. Pass sumac for optional seasoning.
Turkey Sausage with Acorn Squash and Red Onions
Turkey Sausage with Acorn Squash and Red Onion 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 (either grated Parmesan or for a sharper contrast, Asiago) melts atop it all during the 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 to 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
DIRECTIONS
1. Adjust oven rack to middle position. Arrange a second rack about 8 inches from the broiler element. Preheat oven to 475 degrees.
2. On a 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 to 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, 3 to 4 minutes. Sprinkle cranberries or cherries on top.