Food - Drink
Ina Garten's Extra Step For Cooking One-Pan Meals Adds More Flavor
By AMANDA BRETZ
Whether you're making a sheet pan meal or a one-pot pasta, soup, or stew, cooking dinner in just one vessel is certainly convenient. However, sometimes flavor is sacrificed in exchange for ease, and celebrity chef Ina Garten recommends one step to boost the taste of one-pan meals without too much work.
In a video on Food Network's YouTube channel, Garten explains that cooking in stages and taking advantage of browning and reduction — which take place at the bottom of the pot or pan — are the keys to a tasty and quick dinner. She uses this technique for a one-pan dinner of chicken and sliced potatoes.
Garten partially cooks the chicken in the oven, then removes it from the pan and adds sliced potatoes to cook in the meat juices; they'll absorb the flavorful brown bits, called fond, that form on the bottom of the pan. She then puts the chicken back on top of the potatoes and lets the ingredients bake together, resulting in a flavorful dish.