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Rainy Day Bake Tray

Ingredients

  • 1 pint grape or cherry tomatoes halved
  • 1 head broccoli florets or 2 bunches broccolini trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces (about 4 cups)
  • ½ pound mushrooms trimmed and sliced (about 3 cups)
  • 1 share's worth green beans cut into 1" pieces or so (optional)
  • 1 onion cut into hefty chunks (optional)
  • ¼ cup olive oil plus more as needed
  • 1½ teaspoons dried or fresh oregano
  • 1 teaspoon red-pepper flakes
  • Kosher salt
  • 2 spicy or sweet Italian sausages
  • ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan plus more for serving
  • 1 loaf soft Italian bread split lengthwise
  • 3 to 5 small garlic cloves grated or minced (optional)
  • 5-6 leaves fresh basil for topping

Instructions

  1. Heat the oven to 400 degrees with one rack in the lower third and one in the upper. On one sheet pan, combine the tomatoes, broccoli, beans, and mushrooms with ¼ cup oil. Season with 1 teaspoon oregano, ½ teaspoon red-pepper flakes and salt to taste. Toss to combine, then arrange the tomatoes so they are cut-side up. Chop the sausage into bite-size chunks. Distribute them around the vegetables. Sprinkle the entire sheet pan with 2 tablespoons Parmesan. Roast for 15 minutes.

  2. Meanwhile, brush the cut sides of the bread with about 2 to 3 tablespoons of oil. Spread the grated garlic on the bread (if you want), then sprinkle with the remaining ½ teaspoon red-pepper flakes, ½ teaspoon oregano and salt to taste. Also parmesan if you're into it. Cut into 3- to 4-inch pieces. Or don't. I just put them in there in complete lengths and cut them after, which is certainly a more crumbly affair.

  3. After 15 minutes, sprinkle the entire pan with the remaining ¼ cup Parmesan, concentrating your efforts on the tomatoes and the empty pan edges so that some Parmesan has room to crisp. (The original recipe recommends flipping and shuffling things at this point but I honestly didn't have room on my edgeless pan to risk it and it was just fine) Return the meatball sheet pan to the lowest rack and place the bread sheet pan on the higher rack. Roast until the bread is golden at the edges, the broccoli tips are crispy and the meatballs are cooked through, 7 to 10 minutes. (If the broccoli and meatballs need a little more time, remove the bread from the oven, cover loosely with foil and continue to roast the other sheet pan for 5 more minutes.)

  4. Use a wooden spoon or spatula to scrape up any cheese that has stuck to the bottom of the pan. Serve everything with the garlic bread and more grated cheese and freshly chopped basil!