Equipment
Ingredients
Meats
- 600 g bone-in skin-on chicken thighs
- 400 g thick pork sausages
Vegetables
- 500 g pumpkin, peeled and cut into 3cm wedges
- 250 g cremini mushrooms, halved
- 150 g red onion, cut into thick wedges
- garlic, whole cloves, unpeeled
Pantry & Seasoning
- 30 ml olive oil
- 60 ml chicken broth, warm
- 10 g fresh rosemary, sprigs
- 5 g kosher salt
- 2 g black pepper, freshly cracked
Nutrition (per serving)
Nutrition is estimated per serving. Nutrients without complete source data are omitted.
Full nutrition
- Calories
- 795 kcal
- Protein
- 47 g
- Carbohydrates
- 18 g
- Fat
- 60 g
- Fiber
- 2 g
- Sugar
- 7 g
- Sodium
- 1484 mg
- Saturated Fat
- 17 g
- Trans Fat
- 0 g
- Monounsaturated Fat
- 27 g
- Polyunsaturated Fat
- 11 g
- Cholesterol
- 233 mg
- Potassium
- 1449 mg
- Calcium
- 84 mg
- Iron
- 3.9 mg
- Magnesium
- 72 mg
- Phosphorus
- 534 mg
- Zinc
- 5.6 mg
- Vitamin A
- 599 mcg
- Vitamin C
- 16 mg
- Vitamin D
- 1.6 mcg
- Vitamin E
- 3.6 mg
- Vitamin K
- 10 mcg
- Vitamin B6
- 1.0 mg
- Vitamin B12
- 2.0 mcg
- Thiamin
- 0.52 mg
- Riboflavin
- 0.87 mg
- Niacin
- 16.3 mg
- Folate
- 51 mcg
- Water
- 374 g
Sources: USDA FoodData Central
Method
Preheat your oven to 200°C/400°F. Ensure the rack is in the middle position.
Using a chef's knife and cutting board, prepare the pumpkin, mushrooms, and red onion according to the ingredient list.
In a large mixing bowl, toss the pumpkin wedges, red onion, unpeeled garlic cloves, and rosemary sprigs with half of the olive oil, salt, and black pepper until well coated.
Transfer the seasoned vegetables to a large roasting pan. Nestle the chicken thighs and pricked pork sausages among the vegetables. Drizzle the remaining olive oil over the meats.
Place the roasting pan in the oven and roast for 25 minutes.
Carefully remove the pan from the oven. Add the halved mushrooms to the pan and pour the chicken broth directly onto the bottom of the pan to mingle with the juices.
Return the pan to the oven and roast for an additional 20 minutes, or until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 74°C/165°F, the sausages are golden brown, and the pumpkin is fork-tender.
Remove from the oven and let the dish rest for 5 minutes before serving to allow the meat juices to redistribute.
Chef's Notes
- Keep the garlic cloves in their skins to prevent them from becoming bitter and burning in the high heat. They will roast into a sweet, mellow paste that can be squeezed out over the cooked chicken or vegetables.
- Pricking the sausages before roasting is crucial. It allows their seasoned fat to slowly render out, naturally basting the pumpkin and mushrooms with rich flavor.
- Adding the mushrooms halfway through the cooking process ensures they release their moisture into the savory broth without shriveling up and drying out over the long roasting time.
- The small amount of chicken broth added during the cook helps scrape up any caramelized fond from the bottom of the pan, creating a rustic built-in pan sauce.
Storage
Refrigerator: 3 days — Store in an airtight container. The chicken skin will lose its crispness.
Freezer: 1 month — Freeze in portions. The texture of the pumpkin may become slightly mushy upon thawing.
Reheating: Reheat in the oven at 180°C/350°F for 15 minutes to restore texture.
Troubleshooting
Vegetables are burning before the chicken is cooked.
Cause: Oven runs hot or vegetables were cut too small.
Fix: Remove the cooked vegetables from the pan early to a warm plate and continue cooking the meat.
Prevention: Ensure pumpkin wedges are at least 3cm thick and verify oven temperature with an oven thermometer.
Dish is too watery or lacking caramelization.
Cause: Pan was overcrowded, causing ingredients to steam rather than roast.
Fix: Carefully drain excess liquid into a saucepan to reduce into a gravy, and place the roasting pan under the broiler for 3 minutes.
Prevention: Use a sufficiently large pan to allow air circulation around the ingredients.
Cultural Context
The traybake, often referred to as a sheet pan meal, is a modern evolution of the classic British Sunday roast. It offers the same deeply comforting, hearty flavors with a fraction of the preparation and washing up. By roasting the meats in the same vessel as autumnal vegetables like pumpkin and mushrooms, the ingredients share their flavors organically, creating a harmonious and unified family dinner.
