Leafy Pans Make Great Pan Sauces Too.
It’s hard to beat leafy dishes for convenience. Baking proteins and vegetables side by side in the same skillet is an easy route to a complete meal. Well, almost done – where is the sauce? The baking sheet remains the pan, so why are we leaving the sauces for the pan?
While I use a very similar method when I fry the ingredients for broths and soups, the concept of sauce in a leaf pan didn’t appeal to me until I saw Alison Roman’s chicken with shredded olive dressing all over my Instagram. This is a brilliant idea: bake meat and / or vegetables on a baking sheet, transfer to a plate and pour broth, cream, booze, vinegar or even plain old water directly into the pan while it is still hot. Scrape off the browned pieces with a spoon like in a skillet, season with salt and pepper, and pour over everything. If the sauce looks too runny, place the baking sheet in the hot oven again for about five minutes to reduce it.
I decided to try it on my favorite baking sheet: grilled Italian sausage, potatoes and onions from Mattie Matheson ‘s cookbook . After browning, I stacked the food on a plate and removed the frosting from the pan by adding half a cup of homemade chicken stock and 2 tablespoons each of apple cider vinegar and Dijon mustard. It was an impossible meal to stop eating: hearty sausages, crisp potatoes soaked in sausage juice, and an addictive hot skillet sauce to top it off. I’ll never miss a skillet sauce again, and can’t wait to see what it can do with fried vegetables.