Once you master the really simple feat of cooking an entire meal at one time in your convection oven you will be amazed at how easily a complete meal including dessert can come together. Of course the trick is to choose foods that can easily cook at the same temperature, and to plan the timing so each item will be ready at the same time. 350° is an ideal temperature for most foods cooked in Convection including simple desserts like a fruit crisp or cobbler. If however you are making a dessert with pastry like a tart, pie or kuchen then you should follow the Convection rule for baking and reduce the recipe temperature by 25° so that the baked item will cook correctly.

Meal Preparation Plan

For this meal I began by cooking the vegetables and since the medley included beets, butternut squash and green beans I had to plan for the varied cooking time of the vegetables so I started the beets first because they take the longest to cook. I peeled the beets and cut them into thin slices, tossed them in some vegetable oil and cooked them for 20 minutes then I folded in the green beans and thinly sliced butternut squash and cooked the vegetables for another 12-15 minutes. When I added these vegetables into the oven I also added the salmon that also takes about 12-15 minutes to cook…meanwhile I was preparing the Kuchen.

When it was time to bake the kuchen I reduced the oven temperature to 325° because by that time pretty much everything was well enough cooked and reducing the temperature wouldn’t have an adverse affect on the other foods.

By the time we finished our salmon and vegetables it was time to eat the Kuchen, which we enjoyed with some, whipped cream. This is a fabulous easy meal that uses a lot great vegetables, fresh fruit and great tasting fish.

Recipes

Plum Kuchen

Baking is much easier if you assemble and measure all of the ingredients before you begin.

Preheat the oven to Convection 325° and butter a 9x2x13” baking pan

Step 1

• 6 – tablespoons, unsalted butter
• 2/3 – cups sugar
• 2 – large eggs
• 1 – teaspoon vanilla extract

Combine the butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer for 5-6 minutes. Add the eggs in 1 at a time then stir in the vanilla

Step 2

Combine the following ingredients and sift into a small bowl

• 1 ½ – cups all purpose flour
• 1 ½ – teaspoons baking powder
• 1 ½ – teaspoons ground cinnamon
• ¼ – teaspoon salt

Step 3

Measure out the following ingredients and set aside

• ½ – cup sour cream
• ½ – teaspoon cinnamon mixed with 2 – tablespoons sugar
• 2 – tablespoons melted butter

Add the dry ingredients to the batter in three additions, alternating with the sour cream in 2 additions.

Spread the batter into the prepared pan and arrange the plum wedges in even rows atop the batter. Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar over the top of the kuchen and top with a drizzle of the melted butter. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until a tester comes out clean.

Roasted Beets with Butternut Squash & Green Beans

• 1 – bunch red beets, peeled and cut into thin slices
• 1 – cup butternut squash, cubed and cut into thin slices
• 2 – cups green beans, trimmed and cut in half
• 4 – leaves fresh mint, thinly sliced

Preheat the oven Convection 350°

Wearing disposable gloves, peel and cut the beets and toss them with a little vegetable oil and kosher salt then spread onto a rimmed baking sheet and cook for 20 minutes.

While the beets are cooking, prep the butternut squash and green beans, combine in a mixing bowl and toss with a little oil. When the beets have cooked for 20 minutes remove the tray from the oven, turn the beets then combine with the other vegetables. Return the tray to the oven and cook for another 15 minutes. Before serving combine the cooked vegetables with a little chopped fresh mint.

Oven Roasted Salmon

• 1 1/3 lbs – salmon (allow 1/3lb per person)
• ½ – teaspoon herbs de Provence
• ¼ – teaspoon garlic parsley powder
• Drizzle of olive oil

Place the fish on a rimmed baking sheet.

Sprinkle the herbs over the fish and add a pinch of kosher salt, drizzle a little oil over the fish and bake for 12-15 minutes Convection 350°