Sheet-Pan Baked Feta with Broccolini, Tomatoes, and Lemon

Ready for roasting!

This recipe caught my eye while scrolling thru the NYT Cooking app because, you know, first you eat with your eyes. And the picture at the top of the post was gorgeous.

Ready for eating!

We just happened to have all the ingredients in-house, with a couple of minor modifications to the original recipe. I swapped in broccoli for the broccolini (have never seen that here in Puerto Rico), and crumbled feta for the block feta (another no-show here). I don’t think those two swaps adversely affected the recipe, because it came out great. Besides looking definitely picture-worthy, the melange of flavors was fabulous. I served it over orzo, but you could easily use rice or farro. I would leave out the lemon slices as they were a little bitter after roasting. Otherwise, highly recommend this dish!

Sheet-Pan Baked Feta with Broccolini, Tomatoes, and Lemon (NYT Cooking)

Ingredients:

• 1 bunch broccolini, ends trimmed, thick stalks split lengthwise, or broccoli, stalks trimmed and cut into bite-size pieces
• 1 pint grape tomatoes, halved (about 2 cups)
• 1 small red onion, peeled, quartered and cut into 2-inch wedges
• 1 lemon, 1/2 cut into thin rounds and the remaining 1/2 left intact, for serving
• 3 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for serving
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• ½ teaspoon red-pepper flakes
• Kosher salt and black pepper
• 2 (6- to 8-ounce) blocks feta, cut into 1-inch slices
• Cooked orzo or farro, for serving
• ½ cup fresh basil or cilantro leaves and fine stems, roughly chopped (optional) 

Directions:

1. Heat the oven to 400 degrees with a rack set in the lower third. On a sheet pan, combine the broccolini, tomatoes, onion and lemon slices with the olive oil and toss. Add cumin and red-pepper flakes, season with salt and pepper, and toss again until evenly coated. Nestle the feta slices into the vegetables. (It’s OK if they break apart a little.)
2. Roast 15 to 20 minutes, stirring halfway through but leaving the feta in place, until the broccolini is charred at the tips, the stems are easily pierced with a fork and the tomato skins start to blister and break down.
3. Serve over orzo or farro. Drizzle with olive oil and serve with the remaining lemon half for squeezing. Top with fresh herbs, if using.

Recipe-in-a-Flash: Dijon-Maple Chicken Sheet Pan Dinner

I have made this terrific dinner three times now for two reasons: one, because it is SO good and SO easy; and two, because I wanted to be sure it was blog-worthy. Oh, it is.

The recipe calls for a mix of drumsticks and bone-in chicken thighs, but you can of course, customize it if you are not a fan of say, drumsticks, etc. 

From the Pure Wow food editors, this one-tray meal comes together very quickly. The full recipe is below, but read on for just how simple it is: 

Prepped and ready to go (and pretty, too)!

Start with a mixture of soy sauce, Dijon, and maple syrup, and brush over chicken pieces (which you’ve seasoned with S and P and arranged on a parchment or foil-lined sheet pan). Toss cubed butternut squash, trimmed and halved Brussels sprouts in a bowl with olive oil, S and P, and fresh thyme. Spread the veggies in a single layer around the chicken, and bake for about 40 minutes. Add another 5 minutes after you brush more maple syrup and mustard on the chicken, and voila, dinner!

PS: I've installed a new "print" widget at the bottom of the post - please let me know if it works for you. Thanks!

Just out of the oven, beautifully crisped and caramelized.

Dijon-Maple Chicken with Brussels sprouts and Butternut Squash

Ingredients:

Olive oil spray (I used regular non-stick spray)

2 TB reduced-sodium soy sauce (I used regular soy sauce)

4 TB Dijon mustard - divided

3 TB pure maple syrup - divided

4 large bone-in chicken thighs (6-1/2 oz each), skin removed and fat trimmed

4 skinless chicken drumsticks (3-1/2 oz each)

Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper

12 oz Brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved

12 oz butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 3/4” cubes (I used organic, pre-cubed squash from Costco)

6 sprigs fresh thyme

1-1/2 TB olive oil

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425F. Line an 18x13” large rimmed sheet pan with foil or parchment paper. Spray with olive oil.
2. In a small bowl, combine soy sauce, 3 TB of the mustard and 2 TB of the maple syrup.
3. Season chicken all over with S and P, then arrange on prepared pan.
4. In a large bowl, combine Brussels sprouts, butternut squash, thyme, and olive oil. Season with S and P. Arrange vegetables on prepared baking sheet in a single layer around the chicken. Pour the Dijon-maple sauce over the chicken, turning to coat completely, and pour any remaining sauce over the vegetables.
5. Bake until the chicken is cooked through and the vegetables are tender about 40 minutes. Meanwhile, in a small bowl whisk together the remaining 1 TB each mustard and maple syrup.
6. Brush the mustard-maple mixture over the chicken. Bake 5 minutes more until browned. Serve right away.