Mediterranean Harvest Bowl: A Lebanese Sheet-Pan Dinner

A sheet-pan dinner for the cold months

This is the kind of dinner that does most of the work on its own. Sweet potatoes, Brussels sprouts, pearl onions and chickpeas go onto one tray with olive oil, Aleppo pepper and a Mediterranean herb salt, and roast until the edges catch. Kale joins for the last ten minutes. Everything then lands on a bed of cool lemon and cucumber yogurt.

The idea is contrast: hot, crisp, spiced vegetables against cold, fresh yogurt. It is nourishment for body and soul, and it comes together with very little hands-on time.

Quick facts

• Prep: 20 minutes
• Roast: one longer roast for the vegetables, then 10 more minutes once the kale goes on
• Oven: 175°C (350°F)
• Style: vegetarian, one tray, built in bowls

The spices that make it

• Aleppo pepper: the warmth over the roasted vegetables. Mild and fruity rather than sharp.
• Mediterranean Herb & Salt: the seasoning for the tray. Rosemary, thyme, smoked chili and sea salt in one jar.
• Fleur de sel: for dressing the kale before it goes in.

Ingredients

Roasted vegetables

• 2 sweet potatoes, cubed
• Brussels sprouts, quartered
• 10 pearl onions, whole
• 1 can chickpeas, drained and patted dry
• A bunch of kale
• Olive oil
• 2 tbsp Aleppo pepper
• 2 tbsp Mediterranean Herb & Salt
• 1 tsp fleur de sel
• Chili flakes, to your preferred heat
• 1 tsp garlic powder

Yogurt base

• 2 cups Greek yogurt
• 2 cucumbers, finely diced
• Zest of 1 lemon
• A small bunch of parsley, finely chopped

To garnish

• Toasted sesame seeds
• Habbet el baraka (black cumin seeds, also sold as nigella)

Method

1. Prep the vegetables. Cube the sweet potatoes, quarter the sprouts, peel the pearl onions, and pat the chickpeas dry so they crisp.
2. Roast. Put the sweet potatoes, sprouts, pearl onions and chickpeas on a baking tray with the Aleppo pepper, Mediterranean Herb & Salt, chili flakes, garlic powder and a good pour of olive oil. Mix well and roast at 175°C (350°F).
3. Add the kale. While the tray roasts, drizzle the kale with olive oil and the fleur de sel. When the first roast is up, pull the tray, lay the dressed kale over the top, and roast 10 minutes more at the same temperature.
4. Make the yogurt base. While everything roasts, mix the Greek yogurt, cucumber, lemon zest and parsley.
5. Assemble. Spread the yogurt in the bottom of each bowl, then the kale, then the rest of the vegetables.
6. Garnish with the sesame and black cumin seeds and dig in.

Tips for getting it right

• Dry chickpeas crisp; wet ones steam. Pat them properly and give the tray room. Use two trays rather than crowd one.
• The kale goes in late on purpose. Ten minutes gives you crisp edges without burning.
• Cold yogurt, hot vegetables. The contrast is the point, so do not warm the base.
• Swap freely. Trade the sweet potato for butternut squash or carrots in the same weight. Same timing.

Cold yogurt, hot vegetables. The contrast is the point.

Where the spices come from

The Aleppo pepper, Mediterranean Herb & Salt and fleur de sel in this bowl are all from Beirut Spice Co., sourced from Lebanon and small-batch packed with no fillers or preservatives.

If you like this one, the same pantry also covers za'atar, spicy za'atar, sumac, shawarma seasoning and baharat (Lebanese seven spices).