Sheet pan roast vegetables with maple tahini dressing

Happy fall, all! You know what I love about fall? There’s the obvious, of course—the leaves. Here, we’ve got gorgeous golden aspens, a sprinkling of maple. They’re lovely, even as I do long for the classic New England kind of blaze this time of year. But there are so many other atumnal delights, too, from the cooling temps to the pumpkin spice. Not least among all those, though, is the renewed abundance of cozy, easy autumn dinners.

What is it about “back-to-school” season that seems to kick up the pace of life, even as the energy of days kind of mellows somehow? The frenzy of to-dos seems especially contrary this year, because we chose in-person school again, and in theory I have more time to get things done. The problem, largely, is that what I’ve determined needs to be “done” has expanded exponentially. Not only has the usual work load been released from it’s compressed container, but the piles of “other” items seem to keep compounding themselves. But this is about dinner, not boundaries, and we’ll get there, on both counts.

As much as I love cooking and experimenting with new meals, there is such supreme satisfaction in throwing things together with little effort and yielding something delicious. Sheet pan dinners, much like crockpot creations, really git the bill. A big bonus of this one is, it doubles neatly and nicely with a “clean out the fridge", quest. Just roast whatever's left before the next big shop. Best of all, you get to elevate with an easy and so toothsome maple tahini dressing—the original inspiration for maple tahini chocolate chip cookies I posted a little while back. Simple ingredients that prove such a yummy combination, adding rich, subtly sweet and earthy depth of flavor and blends up in a snap.

I’m going to keep this recipe as simple as can be—because I don’t have time to pore over recipes for what are meant to be intuitive, simple weekday meals, and probably neither do you. Just throw what you’ve got on a pan, coat with cooking spray or lightly with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper and roast. Add chickpeas midway through unless you want them super crispy, which is also nice. Drizzle with this sumptuous dressing or another of your choosing, and relax!

What are your go-to wholesome active time saving meals? I’d love to know. Happy time-saving deliciousness!

Sheetpan roast vegetables with maple tahini dressing
Serves 4

For the sheetpan roast:

• Approximately 6 cups of whatever vegetables you feel like! I like to go with 1/2 red onion, cut into wedges, a small-medium broccoli crown, chopped, a cup or two of halved brussels sprouts, a seeded, chopped bell pepper, and a small peeled, chopped sweet potato. 😊

• 1 15-ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

• 2 Cups cooked brown rice or whole grain of choice, for serving, optional
  
  For the dressing:

• 1/3 cup tahini

• 1.4 Cup fresh lemon juice

• 1-2 Tablespoons pure maple syrup

• 1 garlic glove

• 1/3 cup water
  

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees F. Place all vegetables and chickpeas on your sheet pan and coat lightly with cooking spray or drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle with sea salt and pepper. *Alternatively, add chickpeas roughly 15 minutes into cooking.

Roast vegetables until tender and browning, approximately 40 minutes.

While vegetables are roasting, prepare the dressing: place all ingredients in a blender and process until smooth. Add water as needed to reach desired consistency.

Divide grains in bowls and top with vegetables. Drizzle with dressing. Enjoy!