Delicious Sheet Pan Meals

By Evan Kleiman

 

B

eloved British chef Jamie Oliver deserves a medal for popularizing the chef trick known as the sheet pan dinner. The technique introduced the home cook to the chefs’ trick of using high heat to cook food with tons of flavor quickly. All you need is a half or quarter sheet pan with a rim. Yes, you can make dinner in a toaster oven. I do it all the time. And no rimless cookie sheets need apply. The food tends to roll off when you’re not looking and meats especially can be juicy and that rim keeps your oven clean and gives a finished dish the benefit of flavorful juicy extras.

I like lining my pans with parchment. You still get the benefit of the heat but cleanup is easier. Because I’m using the paper I tend to keep the heat a bit higher at 425 degrees. If you don’t care what your sheet pans look like or you’re willing to keep one for this purpose, then by all means use the sheet naked. The transfer of heat will caramelize vegetables and reduce the time of making a whole spatchcocked chicken. You’ll like both the lack of pots and pans for cleanup and everything for dinner ready at the same time.

South Coast Plaza’s note: To prepare the recipes, Williams Sonoma Goldtouch Half Sheet Pans were used. They are made in the USA from heavy-gauge aluminum-coated steel, exclusively for Williams Sonoma. The multipurpose professional-weight pan handles a variety of needs, has a nonstick finish that releases baked foods easily, cleans up quickly and is dishwasher safe. The Goldtouch ceramic-based coating that reinforces the pans is not only aesthetically pleasing but makes them more resistant to abrasion than normal nonstick surfaces.

 

 

 

 

Ratatouille with Feta, Almonds and Breadcrumbs
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Salmon with Asparagus, Fennel, Mushrooms and Lemon Butter
view recipe