Today marks the return of听my Sunday Dinner column, which is what my听Sunday food page was听originally called when I听started writing it back in听2001.
The concept is simple: to offer 听 dinner idea so appealing that folks will want to start shopping for and cooking it soon after reading the newspaper.
In this column, and in my Wednesday feature, I鈥檒l still answer any culinary questions you have, as I did when this page听was called Ask Eric.
To start things off, today I鈥檝e听decided to offer you a recipe for a sheet-pan dinner. This style听of meal seems trendy, given听how many recipes I鈥檝e seen听for them in cookbooks and听food magazines lately.
In our busy world, it鈥檚 easy to understand why they鈥檙e popular. Cooking an entire meal on one pan reduces cleanup time, as it will be the only cooking vessel to wash once dinner is done.
My recipe does require you to听mess up a large bowl. That鈥檚 where you鈥檒l toss chicken, vegetables, olives and sausage with flavourings, before setting them on the pan and roasting them.
I call it Mediterranean-style sheet-pan chicken dinner because those flavourings include lemon, olive oil, garlic, oregano and spices, all of which create a most听amazing aroma during cooking.
I like to offer guests both white and dark meat, which is why I听used a whole chicken, cut up, in听my recipe. You can buy a whole听chicken, cut up, at some supermarkets. You can also cut up听the chicken yourself by following my instructions below. Or, if听you want, you could use drumsticks and thighs (see Eric鈥檚 options).
How to cut up a chicken
There are methods for cutting up a whole chicken. This is the one I听used for today鈥檚 recipe. You will end up with 12 pieces of chicken.
鈥� Set chicken breast-side down on a cutting board. With kitchen shears or a very sharp knife, cut along either side of the chicken鈥檚 backbone, which is directly opposite the breastbone, and remove. Save backbone for stock.
鈥� Set chicken breast-side up. Press on the chicken to听make it flat. Cut听the chicken in half down the middle of the breastbone.
鈥� Cut the legs and wings off the breast. Cut each leg into drumstick and thigh pieces. Cut each breast, widthwise, in half. Cut each wing into drummette and wingette pieces. Trim off excess fat and loose skin on the chicken pieces. The chicken is now ready to use in the recipe.
Mediterranean-style Sheet-Pan Chicken Dinner
Olives, lemon, garlic, chorizo, herbs and spices give this one-pan chicken dinner a lively Mediterranean-style taste. The dried, cured chorizo used in the recipe is听sold in the deli section of many supermarkets.
听
Preparation: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 50 to 55 minutes
Makes: four servings
听
1/4 cup olive oil
鈥� finely grated zest and juice of 1 large lemon
2 large garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp oregano
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 whole (about 3 lb.) chicken, cut into 12听pieces (see Eric鈥檚 options)
12 large unpitted green olives
1 medium red onion, halved and sliced
1 medium green pepper, cut into 1-inch cubes
4 medium yellow-flesh potatoes, skin-on, each cut into 6 wedges
2 dried, cured chorizo sausages (each about 70 grams), cut in 1/2-inch slices
鈥� salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
鈥� coarsely chopped fresh parsley to taste
6 lemon slices or wedges, for squeezing (optional)
Preheat the oven to 375 F. Line a large-sided baking sheet (mine was 13 by 18 inches) or large shallow roasting pan with parchment paper. Combine first seven ingredients in a large bowl. Add chicken pieces, olives, onion, green peppers, potatoes and sausage and toss to coat with oil mixture.
Set chicken on the baking sheet, skin side up. Now surround chicken with vegetables, olives and sausage, placing some of the onions and peppers under the chicken. (Don鈥檛 cover the chicken with the other items. The skin needs to be exposed, or the chicken won鈥檛 brown.) Sprinkle the items on the pan with salt and pepper.
Roast the chicken, basting with pan juices occasionally, for 50 to 55 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked and the potatoes are tender.
Sprinkle on parsley, set on the lemon slices (or wedges), if using, set pan on the dinner table and dig听in.
Eric鈥檚 options: If you don鈥檛 care to cut up a whole chicken to use in this recipe, or prefer just to have dark meat, you could replace it with six chicken thighs and six chicken drumsticks.
Eric Akis is the author of eight cookbooks. His latest is The Great Rotisserie Chicken Cookbook (Appetite by Random House). His columns appear in the Life section Wednesday and Sunday.
