Holy sheet! Four hot new tray-bake saviours for easy end-of-year entertaining

Holy sheet season is upon us, as we drag our way to the finish line. It’s always such a busy time of year, and I think the ease of one baking tray at a time is key to survival as the silly season hits its straps. The following tray bakes are easy, minimal on the washing up (vanilla slice aside) and worth adding to your hectic mid-week repertoire.

Sheet pan pizza of the gods

There’s nothing greater than piping hot pizza fresh from the oven, indecently laden with mozzarella, olives and pepperoni doing their best to escape their carby base.

INGREDIENTS

Dough

• 400ml warm water
• 7g sachet dry yeast (if you can find one with bread improver, use that one)
• 3 tsp honey
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 500g bread flour
• generous 1 tsp sea salt flakes

Topping

• 280g tomato paste or pizza sauce
• ½-¾ cup pitted kalamata olives
• 450g mozzarella ball, sliced
• 100-150g pepperoni slices

To serve

• drizzle of olive oil
• basil leaves
• sea salt flakes
• freshly cracked black pepper

METHOD

1. Grease a large, lipped baking sheet (about 40cm x 28 cm) with olive oil, then line with baking paper and set aside.
2. Add the water, yeast, honey and olive oil to a bowl of a stand mixer. Set aside for about 5 minutes or until foaming on top.
3. Add the flour and salt, then using the bread hook, mix for a few minutes − unlike many doughs, you don’t need to beat this until completely smooth and elastic, it just needs to be fully incorporated.
4. Cover the bowl with a tea towel and set aside in a warm place for at least 2 hours or until doubled in size. (If making ahead, you can transfer the dough to a large airtight container and let it prove overnight in the fridge, then bring to room temperature before proceeding with the recipe.)
5. Turn the dough out onto the tray and spread into the corners. If it gives you a bit of pushback, keep stretching until it fits. Cover with a tea towel and set aside for another 30 minutes.
6. Preheat your oven to as hot as it can go (about 220C).
7. Spread the base generously with tomato paste or pizza sauce. Scatter with toppings, using as little or as much as you like.
8. Pop in the oven for 15–20 minutes (depending on how hot you can get it) until the crust looks golden, and the cheese is bubbling. Season with salt, pepper and olive oil. Scatter over the basil leaves and serve to applause.

Serves 6

Spring roll crunchy rice salad

This is an emotional support salad. It has everything we need: freshness; crisp, crunch and contrast; a wisp of spice; colour; and a touch of take-out vibes.

For this to reach peak ASMR, assemble it just before you eat. I pull the tray from the oven, plop the salad elements on top and take the tray to the table for everyone to help themselves.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 tbsp flavourless oil, such as vegetable oil
• 500g cooked rice (even better if this is cooked coconut rice)
• 300g cocktail spring rolls (or however many you like, see note)
• 1 continental cucumber, sliced
• 1–2 avocados, sliced
• ¼ cup Kewpie mayonnaise

Dressing

• 3 tbsp rice vinegar
• 3 tbsp mirin
• 3 tbsp sesame oil
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp very finely diced lemongrass (or 3 tbsp lemongrass paste)

To serve

• handful of salted, roasted cashews
• a few basil leaves, to serve
• 2-3 tbsp toasted white and black sesame seeds
• pinch of togarashi or chilli flakes (optional)

METHOD

1. Preheat the oven to 200C fan-forced (220C conventional). Grease a rimmed baking tray with the oil.
2. Combine the dressing ingredients in a bowl and set aside.
3. Add the rice and ¼ of the dressing to a bowl and stir until the rice is coated in the dressing. Scoop onto the tray and press down lightly. Top with the spring rolls. Pop in the oven for 20 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, using the same bowl, add the cucumber and most of the remaining dressing, reserving a couple of tablespoons. Toss gently and set aside for the flavours to infuse.
5. Add the reserved 2 tablespoons of dressing to the Kewpie mayo in a small bowl and stir to combine.
6. When the rice is crispy and crunchy and tanned in spots, and the spring rolls look golden, remove the tray from the oven. Top with the sliced avocado and then the marinated cucumber. Sprinkle over the cashews and few basil leaves then spoon over the mayo mixture and top with sesame seeds and togarashi, if using, and serve.

Serves 2-4

Note: Extra spring rolls are always a good idea, but I suggest cooking them on another tray – you need to give everything a little bit of space to breathe and crisp up. Overcrowded sheet pans don’t give you the one-two punch of crisp and crunch.

Patatas bravas, double the sauce

We can’t all be making our way through Spain’s tapas bars, but we can have the same intent with our potatoes. Here, spiced potatoes are roasted until golden and served with a nontraditional red sauce that’s more romesco than brava, so I call it kind-of brava. I also love a garlic aioli. And offering both sauces with a spread of roasted carbs will make you friends every day of the week.

INGREDIENTS

• 1.5kg yellow flesh all-purpose potatoes, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 4-5 tbsp duck fat or olive oil
• 2-3 heads of garlic, halved horizontally

Potato spice blend

• 1 tbsp sea salt flakes
• 1 tbsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp sweet smoked paprika
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• a good pinch ground black pepper

Kind-of brava sauce

• 140g tomato paste
• 2 x marinated red peppers (jarred roasted capsicum), deseeded and roughly chopped
• 1 tbsp sherry vinegar
• ¼ cup smoked almonds
• ½ red onion, chopped
• 3 tsp Spanish sweet smoked paprika

Garlic aioli

• a few of the roasted garlic cloves from roasting the potatoes (or 1 raw garlic clove, grated)
• ¼ cup good quality mayonnaise
• finely grated zest of 1 lemon

METHOD

1. Combine the potatoes, duck fat (or oil) and spices in a bowl and toss, until the potato pieces are covered in the spice mix. Spread over a large roasting tray and season generously with sea salt flakes.
2. Roast in the oven for 40 minutes or until crisp, golden and cooked through, tossing the potatoes midway through the cooking time.
3. Meanwhile, for the kind-of brava sauce, put all the ingredients in a blender and blitz until fully incorporated. Season with sea salt flakes and black pepper. (Extra sauce can be stored in the fridge in an airtight jar or container for another use.)
4. For the garlic aioli, squeeze some of the roasted garlic into a bowl and mash with a fork, then combine with the mayonnaise and lemon zest, and set aside until serving.
5. Transfer the potatoes to a serving platter. Drizzle lightly with the kind-of brava sauce and the garlic aioli. Season with sea salt flakes and black pepper. Serve with additional sauces on the side for dipping.

Serves 6 as part of a spread

The right kind of vanilla slice

So many atrocities of this classic (aka the snot block) are out there. Stay safe and make your own – you will be rewarded with a thing of beauty.

The key is to ditch the cornflour that so many recipes call for. It’s like eating the inside of your primary school tidy tray with a mouthfeel of chalk and clag glue.

You need egg yolks, gelatin, a whisk and a little elbow grease. And you must caramelise your puff pastry first − this is of dire importance to add the requisite textural contrast to the centre.

Note: If you have four flat baking trays, you can bake both pastry pieces at once, just swap oven shelves midway through cooking so they colour evenly.

You can gussy up the passionfruit drizzle any way you like. I scattered elderflowers over the top, but you could also strew finely sliced makrut lime leaves – different in flavour, but equally delightful.

INGREDIENTS

• 375g sheet all-butter puff pastry (I used Careme), defrosted in the fridge
• 3 heaped tbsp caster sugar

Vanilla centre

• 1½ sheets titanium-strength gelatin
• 500ml milk
• 375ml pouring cream
• 70g unsalted butter, coarsely chopped
• 2 tbsp vanilla bean paste
• 145g caster sugar
• 7 egg yolks

Passionfruit drizzle

• juice and pulp of 2 passionfruit (scant ¼ cup)
• 150g icing sugar
• edible flowers to scatter (optional)

METHOD

1. Line a 34cm x 24cm baking/roasting tin with cling film, allowing plenty of overhang on all sides. Bloom the gelatin in a bowl of icy cold water until soft, then discard the excess water.
2. Bring milk, cream, butter and vanilla just to a simmer in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Meanwhile, whisk the sugar and egg yolks in a bowl to combine. Pour the warm milk mixture into the bowl, whisking continuously, then return to the pan and whisk until thick (4-5 minutes). Whisk in the bloomed gelatin until fully incorporated, then pour the custard into your lined tin and pop in the fridge for at least 4 hours, or overnight, to set.
3. Preheat the oven to 180C fan-forced (200C conventional).
4. Roll out your piece of puff pastry on a sheet of baking paper. Cut the pastry sheet in half vertically down the centre, so you have two even rectangles (27cm x 18cm each). Place each sheet on a flat baking tray lined with baking paper. Working with one sheet at a time, use a fork to prick the pastry all over – this helps it to rise evenly, so don’t skip this step. Using a pastry brush, lightly brush with some water and scatter half the caster sugar over. Repeat with the second pastry piece.
5. Cook in the oven for 20 minutes then remove from the oven. Working carefully, as it is still hot, place another piece of baking paper on top of the pastry. Place another flat baking tray over the top, then flip the whole thing over. Return to the oven and bake for another 30 minutes. Remove the top tray and piece of baking paper and cook for another few minutes or until the pastry sheet looks superbly golden and caramelised. Then repeat with the remaining pastry sheet. Allow the pastry to cool to the touch, at least 15 minutes, before assembling.
6. To assemble, place one of the baked pastry sheets directly onto the surface of the custard, then place a chopping board on top. Invert the board and the tray containing the custard. Using the overhang of cling film, gently guide the tray away from the custard. Remove the plastic wrap and top the custard with the second pastry sheet.
7. To make the passionfruit drizzle, combine the passionfruit juice and pulp in a bowl with the icing sugar. Stir with a fork to combine. Drizzle over the top of the vanilla slice and scatter with flowers if using. To serve, slice with a serrated knife.

Serves about 12