Cooking in Quarantine: Sheet Pan Dinner

I know personally, I love cooking, but I am tired! Fatigue for me = sheet pan dinners 🙂 Hard to believe, but I have never tried Gochujang paste before. It is a Korean chili paste that is absolutely delicious! This week I tried out a sheet pan dinner with Gochujang as the season base. Luckily, I have some pretty adventurous eaters at home, and they were willing participants in my little experiment. I found inspiration for this in the NYT Quarantine Cooking series. Original recipe by Yawande Komolafe can be found here. I used root vegetables, but you could easily switch this out for brussels sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower, or whatever is coming out of all those abundant gardens sprouting up. This will serve 6 people or make a multi-night meal for 3.

 

Ingredients:

• 6 tablespoons Gochujang
• 4 teaspoons soy sauce
• 1 piece fresh ginger, peeled and grated (this may be difficult if you do not have a microplane, you can just thinly slice)
• 3 tablespoons canola oil
• 2 pounds butternut squash, seeded and cut into 2-inch pieces ( the original recipe calls for unpeeled, but I like to peel mine)
• 1 pound turnips, peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces
• I bunch scallions, trimmed (I cut the white up until it started getting green to char on top and reserved the green ends for the pickle)
•  4-6 pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs, drumsticks or breasts, patted dry

****Generally, I buy 1 full leg per adult, and add a couple of thighs in for the extra hungry

• 1 bunch radishes, very thinly sliced (much easier with a mandoline, but a steady hand always works)
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil (this gives it a VERY earthy flavor, it is optional)

Instructions:

• Heat the oven to 425 degrees.
• Combine the gochujang, soy sauce, ginger and 3 tablespoons oil in a medium bowl or resealable bag.
• Add the squash, turnips and scallion whites, toss to coat with glaze, or seal bag and shake to coat. Lightly season with salt and transfer to a rimmed baking sheet.
• Rinse and pat dry chicken. Season the chicken with salt and toss to coat in remainder of the glaze. Arrange the chicken pieces skin-side up between the vegetables on the sheet.
• Roast until vegetables are tender, chicken is about 165 degrees, about 50 minutes. Turn on the broiler and crisp the chicken and veg until brown in spots- probably 5-10 minutes.
• While the chicken cooks, thinly slice the scallion greens. Using a sharp knife or a mandoline, cut the radishes into thin rounds. In a small bowl, toss the sliced scallion greens and radishes with the rice vinegar and sesame oil, if using. Season to taste with salt and set aside to lightly pickle.
• Top the roast chicken and vegetables with the quick-pickled scallion-radish mix and transfer to serving plates.

I used chicken, but I think this would be equally delicious with pork chops. As meat becomes scarcer, you could also try this out with tofu, or maybe even Halloumi. It is a little spicy, but totally tasty!

Stay Safe and Cook On!

Other Posts in the Quarantine Series:

• Easy Chocolate Orange Cake
• Broccoli & Brussels Sprout Slaw
• Cobblering Time
• Easy Sticky Buns
• Harissa, Gremolata, and Whole Roasted Fish
• Keto-Friendly Zucchini Rollatini
• Classic Posole
• Baking with Booze
• Easy Mu Shu Pork
• Easy Pasta & Meatballs
• Lime Berry Blast Scones
• One Pan Enchiladas Rojo
• One Pan Enchiladas Verde
• Guide to Professional Chefs social media cooking shows & Pantry Stockers
• Roasted Pork al’Diavolo with Rutabaga Mash
• Blueberry Lemon Scones
• Roasted Shrimp & Orzo Salad
• Easy Apple Cake
• Cookies & Curry in a Hurry
• Baking with Booze
• Best Caprese Salad Ever