Spice Rack Sheet-pan Chicken & Veggies
Ok friends…What I’m about to share with you is certainly not revolutionary. Sheet-pan chicken dinners have been trending for quite some time now. What I can share with you is that sheet-pan suppers, in general, are amazing because they can feed a few or many, are completely versatile, and can get dinner on the table in no time.
This particular sheet-pan supper recipe is an exercise in opening up your senses, learning how to taste-as-you-go and sharpening both your palette and your sense of smell to know what spices pair well together. I cook like this quite often for my savory dishes, building robust flavors by opening one spice at a time, smelling it, and throwing it into the mix if it smells good with the others already there. It’s my favorite way to cook, allowing me to be an artist while using spices as my medium of choice.
The spices for this recipe are merely suggestions, however all of them pair well with the blood orange and ginger used in the marinade. Unless your spice rack is completely bare, I challenge you to improvise where you are lacking any of them specifically. Use your nose as you create the marinade for the chicken and be sure to taste it along the way. If a particular spice smells a little strong, just add a little of it so as not to overpower the marinade. Have fun with it, and may the power of your taste-buds be with you!
Spice Rack Sheet-pan Chicken & Veggies
Cooking time: ~30 minutes for marinating, 30-40 minutes for cooking
Ingredients:
- 1 whole chicken, cut up, skin-on (*note: feel free to substitute your favorite cut of chicken. You can use all thighs, or wings, for example. Just be sure to leave the skin on!)
- 1 tsp fresh grated ginger
- A whole mess of spices…Suggestions: onion powder, Montreal poultry seasoning, Chinese Five-Spice, garam masala, paprika, white pepper, garlic powder
- Juice of 1 orange, preferably blood orange
- Canola oil (2/3 cup)
- Squeeze of honey, to-taste
- Kosher salt & black pepper, to-taste
- Olive oil
- Veggies of choice, as many or as few as you’d like (I used red onion, broccoli and carrots), cut as close to the same size as possible. *Note – when laying out the veggies and chicken on the sheet-pan, you’ll want to be sure that everything is placed in a single layer and not overcrowded. Overcrowded sheet-pan dinners will simply steam, not roast. Alternatively, you could place your veggies on a separate sheet pan from the chicken for roasting…
Preparation
- Rinse the chicken and pat dry. Place in a large bowl with a lid and set aside.
- Build your flavor base: In a small bowl, use a fork to blend together your chosen spices with the ginger, starting with approximately 2 teaspoons of each spice. Remember to use your nose and taste as you go! Save the salt for last, especially if you are including spice blends such as Montreal poultry seasoning in your mix. Such blends tend to include salt in them already.
- Make your marinade: Add the orange juice, honey, and canola oil to the spice mix and whisk together. Taste for balance and to see if anything is missing.
- Pour the marinade over the chicken, using your hands to ensure that each piece of chicken is covered completely. Cover the bowl with a lid/plastic wrap and set in the fridge for 30 minutes.
- Preheat your oven to 425. Cover a large sheet pan with aluminum foil. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, coat your cut veggies with a little olive oil and sprinkle with kosher salt and pepper. Use your hands to ensure all of the vegetables are coated evenly. Set aside.
- Remove the chicken from the fridge and place onto the sheet-pan. Arrange the veggies around the chicken, keeping everything in a single layer as much as possible. *Note – remember, if you have more veggies than can fit on the pan with the chicken in a single layer, feel free to put them on a separate pan.
- Place the chicken and veggies in the oven and roast for 30-40 minutes, or until chicken juices run clear. Once done, let sit for 10 minutes to allow chicken juices to settle. Serve warm. Enjoy!
