Easy Roasting Dish Dinners

One pan roasting dish dinners are a weekly go-to in my house.  You can roast vegetables and have them with feta, beetroot and sweet potato with sausages or white fish with tomato and chorizo for a quick and colourful meal

Servings

2-4

Ready In:

1 hr

Lever:

Beginner

Skills covered

Knife skills, Seasoning, Roasting, Cooking a Meal

Roasting Dish Dinners

By: Chloe Coker

Roasting dish dinners are a really favourite in my house.  They can be prepped ahead and bunged in the oven and are one pan so easy to wash up. Using the same ingredients you can do a simplified dish for kids and a more exciting one for adults and they work brilliantly with veggies, feta, sausages, chicken and fish so there are loads of recipe options.

Instructions

Roasting a pan of vegetables, topped with sausages, chicken thighs or breasts, fish or feta/halloumi makes a really simple one dish supper. 

As a general rule, most vegetables take about 40 minutes to roast at 180*c.  Cut the vegetables into bite size chunks, drizzle them with oil and salt and pepper and stir through any additional seasoning (curry powder, harissa, Cajun seasoning, lemon juice, smoked paprika) or leave them plain.  You can use a variety of vegetables, from white potatoes with rosemary and garlic, sweet potatoes, squash, tomatoes, aubergines, courgette, peppers, fennel, beetroot etc.

For chicken or sausages, add to the vegetables at the start of cooking as they will take about 40 minutes to cook through.  If you are adding chicken, rub thighs with a seasoning or alternatively, stuff the middle of the chicken breast with cream cheese and wrap in bacon or parma ham.

For fish, add it to the tray of vegetables for the final 10 minutes of cooking time with a drizzle of olive oil / a tsp of butter and a squeeze of lemon.  

 

Roasting fish is really simple:  For a child friendly version, preheat the oven to 180*c, peel and cut 2 potatoes into chips, drizzle with olive oil and season with salt.  Cook for 30-40 minutes, then add the cod fillets (as above) for the last 10 minutes of cooking time.  For an adult variation, try adding olives or bacon to the above recipe or serving it with some fresh pesto

 

ROAST COD WITH TOMATOES, POTATOES AND CHORIZO

350g potatoes (we use small salad potatoes), cut into 1 cm slices
Handful cherry tomatoes
Optional: 1 red pepper, diced
2 tbsp olive oil
juice of 1 lemon
salt & pepper
½ chorizo sausage, cut into 1.5 cm slices
2 skinless cod / haddock filets
knob of butter / drizzle olive oil
Optional: 80g rocket
Squeeze of lemon
Handful chopped fresh parsley

  • Preheat the oven to 180*c. Place the potatoes and tomatoes  (and pepper if you are using it) in a baking dish.  Drizzle over the oil and lemon juice, mix well and season with salt and pepper. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes, the add the chorizo and bake for a further 10 minutes
  • Place the cod fillets on top of the potatoes and top with a knob of butter / drizzle of olive oil. Return to the oven and bake for 10-15 minutes until the fish is cooked through
  • Optional: remove the fish and stir through the rocket, then place the fish back on top
  • Top with a squeeze of lemon and some chopped fresh parsley

 

ROASTED BEETROOT & SALMON SALAD

500g fresh beetroot
3 tbsp olive oil
salt & pepper
2 salmon steaks
80g rocket / baby spinach / watercress
1 tbsp capers
Handful dill, chopped
Optional: 2 hard boiled eggs, chopped
2 tsp apple cider vinegar
optional: 1 tbsp grated horseradish
1 tsp maple syrup

  • Preheat the oven to 180*c. Peel and dice the beetroot into 2cm chunks.  Place the beetroot in a roasting dish and toss with 1 tbsp olive oil.  Season with salt & pepper. Cover with foil and roast in the oven for 45 minutes.  If you are adding hard boiled eggs, boil the eggs for 8 minutes, then cool.
  • Remove the foil and add the salmon steaks. Drizzle over 1 tbsp of oil and return to the oven for 15 minutes until the salmon is cooked through
  • Once cooked, place the beetroot in a bowl and stir through the capers, dill and salad leaves.
  • Whisk together 2 tbsp olive oil, 2 tsp apple cider vinegar, horseradish if you are using it, the maple syrup and salt & pepper. Sprinkle over the salad and mix well.  Flake the salmon and sprinkle over the top of the salad.  Top with a few more capers and some chopped dill

 

CURRIED CAULIFLOWER & SQUASH SALAD

½ cauliflower
½ butternut squash
1 garlic clove
juice of 1 lemon
3 tbsp olive oil
3 tsp medium curry powder
salt
handful cashew nuts
handful coconut
handful raisins
fresh coriander / leaves
3 tbsp coconut yoghurt
Handful chopped mint
½ tsp maple syrup

  • Preheat the oven to 180*c
  • Cut the squash into chunks (skin on) and cauliflower into florets and place in a roasting tin
  • Mix 2 tbsp olive oil with 2 tsp curry powder, garlic and lemon juice. Stir through the vegetables
  • Scatter with a generous pinch of salt and drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle over 1 tsp curry powder and stir through (this makes sure everything is really well covered)
  • Bake for 30 minutes, until the vegetables have started to soften and char on the edges
  • Add in cashews, coconut and raisins
  • Bake for a further 15 mins
  • Optional: stir through some fresh green leaves such as baby spinach and sprinkle with a handful of chopped fresh coriander
  • Optional: To make a coconut dressing, mix 3 tbsp coconut yoghurt with a handful of chopped fresh mint, a punch of salt and ½ tsp maple syrup

 

SAUSAGE TRAY BAKE

2 red onions
2 sweet potatoes
Salt and pepper
1 tbsp olive oil
Optional: 1 raw beetroot
1 x packet of good quality sausages
1 tsp mustard
80g rocket

  • Preheat the oven to 180*c. Peel and chop the onion into quarters and place in a roasting tin.  Peel and chop the sweet potato into bite size chunks and add to the roasting tin.  Season with salt and pepper and drizzle over the olive oil.  Toss until well covered.
  • Place the sausages on top of the vegetables and roast in the oven for 40 minutes, until everything is cooked through
  • Remove the sausages and set aside. Stir 1 tsp mustard through the vegetables, then stir through the rocket
  • Replace the sausages and serve

 

ROASTED VEGETABLES

Roasting vegetables releases their natural sweetness and intensifies their flavor.  You can roast most vegetables, from root vegetables such as carrots and parsnips to vegetables such as tomatoes, peppers and mushrooms.

–        Preheat the oven to 180*c. 
–        Chop the vegetables (other than the garlic – leave that whole) into chunks and toss in 1 tbsp olive oil.  Spread them on a baking sheet and season with salt and pepper. 
–        Roast for 30-40 minutes until soften and browned on the edges.

Use them in salads and wraps, blend them into soups and dips, stir them through pasta and risotto and make them into curries

EXTRAS TO HAVE WITH ROASTED VEGETABLES

BAKED FETA

Ingredients

Method

1 pack feta cheese

Olive oil

Zest and juice of ½ lemon

Pinch of oregano / Italian herbs

 

Preheat the oven to 180*c.  Put a piece of feta in a roasting tin, drizzle it with olive oil. Add the lemon zest and juice and herbs and bake for 15 minutes

 

TIPS: You can alter the flavours by using rose harissa or cumin and chilli for a north African flavour

 

ROASTED CHICKPEAS

Ingredients

Method

400g tin chickpeas

1 tbsp olive oil

generous pinch of salt

optional spices: curry powder, cumin, smoked paprika, rosemary, thyme, lemon zest

 

Preheat the oven to 200*c. Rinse and drain the chickpeas and place in a roasting dish.  Add the olive oil and salt and stir until well covered. Cover the baking dish with tin foil as some of the chickpeas will pop in the oven

Roast in the oven for 20-30 minutes until golden and crispy on the outside, shaking the tray every ten minutes.Once cooked, stir through any additional spices.

TIPS: Serve as a snack or stir through salads.  You can also fry chickpeas in a frying pan for a quick alternative

 

Tips, Tricks and Teaching Info

Seasoning and Spices

It is really easy to change the flavours of your dish with different spices.  Add curry powder or harissa to chicken thighs or cauliflower, or go for smoked paprika for a tex mex flavour.

Cook Extra

If you are roasting vegetables cook an extra tray and keep them in the fridge – add them to pitas with hummus, stir them through salads and risottos and use them to make soups. 

Roasting Fish

Roasting a fillet of fish is a really easy way to cook it.  Preheat the oven to 180*c, drizzle with oil/butter and a squeeze of lemon and roast in the oven for around 10mins per inch of thickness