The Easiest Way to Make Any Pan Recipe so Much Better
In theory, sheet pan dishes are the perfect solution to the eternal question of what to cook for dinner. They’re just as easy and convenient as Slow Cooker or Instant Pot recipes, but require less waiting time (and even fewer dishes to wash). But often a recipe that looked chic and appetizing in the photos can easily turn into a raw, insipid, depressing mess. Here’s how to make any pan recipe really work.
When pan recipes fail, it’s often for the obvious reason that because protein and vegetables are mixed side by side, neither can cook properly. Proteins, especially meats, take longer to cook than most vegetables; by the time the meat is ready, the vegetables will turn into porridge. (And if you don’t cook the meat all the way, the veggies just simmer in the undercooked meat juice. Not great!) Another problem: both ingredients tend to release a ton of moisture during cooking. With not enough room to breathe, all that excess water dangles in the pot, making everything soft and moist instead of crispy and brown.
The solution is as simple and obvious as the problem itself. Just use two pans: one for protein and one for everything else. I usually use two half size pans, but you don’t have to go out and buy a special matching set; as long as you have two pans, you have everything you need to upgrade literally any pan. Separating ingredients allows you to keep track of how each pan is being cooked and take it out when it’s fully cooked. You can serve the ingredients individually or mix them together and put everything back in the oven for a few minutes before serving, whichever suits you.
In addition to making simple and easy recipes more reliable, this method is also great for cooking. When you’re working with two (or more) pots, you can easily double or triple a recipe without worrying about overflowing or worse, making a huge batch of something low quality. Lately I’ve been getting really into frying diced firm tofu with olive oil, salt, brown sugar and garlic powder in one pan and any vegetables in another. When everything is cooked, I finish by combining the contents of both pans in one pot, adding some flavored liquid such as teriyaki sauce, vinaigrette, vegetable broth or bean juice, and put back in the oven for another 5 minutes. or 10 minutes. My little mixes come out of the oven caramelized, flavorful and perfectly cooked. Sure, a second pot means another dish to wash, but once you get the hang of this method, you’ll be too busy eating to care.