Easy Sheet (Berkshire Eagle Column)
I may not be living on Easy Street, but an easy sheet pan supper can be a lifesaver on a busy day. The permutations are infinite, only bounded by your imagination, as long as you keep in mind each ingredient’s suitability for roasting.
The version I shared in this past week’s Berkshire Eagle column uses sausage, and this allows for substitutions due to myriad dietary practices, including plant-based sausages. (Be sure to follow any package instructions.) Take the idea and run with it, finding your favorite combinations!
SHEET PAN-ORAMA
by Elizabeth Baer
One of the side effects of being a classicist and a linguist is that I will randomly explain the origins of words, and expect my audience to be as amused as I am at the sometimes curious history of a word or phrase. My husband usually tries to look interested, and then jokes, “Now back to the booth…” as if it’s time to go back to the more important part of the broadcast. Truth be told, though, he is interested, and often asks me about words and phrases he encounters.
The parsing of the word “panorama,” coined from Greek elements, and a resulting modern use of its second element are quite amusing to this linguist. Most people realize from other “pan-” words that it means “all.” The “-orama” part of the word relates to seeing and vision, thus panorama is a view from which you can see everything. So, when an auto dealer advertises a “truck-orama,” it’s suggesting truck vision, when what they really seem to mean is that the sale is on everything trucks!
All this occurred to me as I was thinking about the popular genre of sheet pan suppers, where everything (pan-) is cooked on a half sheet pan or a large baking dish in a single layer. The variations on this are endless, and you can easily adapt it to various dietary practices or restrictions. If you don’t like fennel or can’t find figs, substitute something else! But the beauty of a sheet pan supper is not only the flexibility of ingredients, but also that all cooks on one pan, and at the end of the day, it’s a revelation, a vision, if you will, to see how easy dinner and clean-up can be.
SAUSAGE, FENNEL, AND POTATO SHEET PAN BAKE
Serves 2, can be doubled
INGREDIENTS:
1 large fennel bulb, cut in wedges through the root end
1 large Yukon Gold potato, cut in wedges
1 large onion, root trimmed of dirt, cut in wedges through the root end
½ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon fresh ground pepper
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary or 1 tablespoon dried, or substitute other herb(s)
2 teaspoons grainy mustard
4 sausages, any kind, pierced
8 fresh figs, quartered
2 tablespoons cognac or white wine, optional
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a half sheet pan or large baking dish with heavy duty foil. This is optional, but does make for an easy clean-up. Place the fennel, potato, onion, salt, pepper, olive oil, rosemary, and mustard in a bowl, and toss to coat well. Spread everything out on the foil-lined pan. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes
After 20 minutes, make spaces on the pan for the sausages and nestle them among the other ingredients. Return to the oven and bake for 20 minutes more.
Finally, scatter the fig pieces around the pan and drizzle the cognac or white wine over all, if using. Allow to bake for 10 minutes more. Depending on your oven and your preference, you can certainly serve dinner now. If you prefer a bit more char on the edges, slide the pan under the broiler, the second level down from the heating element, and broil until desired doneness, checking frequently.