Sola Gratia Farm Week Seventeen: Briam (Greek Baked Vegetables)

I always think of September as perfect ratatouille weather....all the tomatoes, zucchini, eggplant and plethora of red, yellow and green peppers. While I love ratatouille sometimes you have to change it up. I wasn't thrilled with the last batch I made (I just should have cooked the tomatoes a bit longer and added a bit more seasoning I think). I remembered that last September at a house concert I had tried making briam, a Greek version of ratatoille and really loved it. It's very similar but it is layered in a casserole dish and includes potatoes which makes it seem a bit heartier to me. It's flavored with oregano and parsley as opposed to the basil or thyme of ratouille. I liked it because I was serving it at a party and  it seemed to stand on it's own for vegetarians/vegans but worked fine as a side dish as well. I got this recipe from an article by Martha Rose Shulman about ratatouille and how many cultures have a similar vegetable dish. I still need to try the Turkish one!

Briam (Greek Baked Vegetables)
by Martha Rose Shulman via the New York Times

1 medium eggplant
Salt
2 medium red onions
4 large garlic cloves
1 1/2 pounds potatoes, scrubbed, peeled if desired
1 1/2 pounds zucchini
2 large bell peppers, seeded
1/3 to 2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil, to taste
2 pounds tomatoes, grated or peeled, seeded and chopped, or a 28-ounce can, drained
Black pepper
1/2 to 1 pound small okra, ends trimmed, optional
1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
2 tablespoons chopped marjoram or oregano, or 2 teaspoons dried.

If the eggplant is thin and long, slice it about1/4-inch thick. If it’s fat, halve it lengthwise, then slice in1/4-inch-thick half-moons. Sprinkle with salt and put on paper towelsfor 30 minutes. Thinly slice the onions and mince the garlic. Cut thepotatoes, zucchini and peppers into

1/4-inch-thick slices. Squeeze excess water from eggplant and pat dry.

Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Heat 2 tablespoons ofthe olive oil over medium heat in a large, heavy skillet and add theonions. Stir often, until tender and translucent, about 8 minutes. Add agenerous pinch of salt and stir in the garlic. Cook for another minuteor two, until fragrant.

Lightly oil a deep earthenware baking dish or aheavy Dutch oven. Put the tomatoes in a bowl and season liberally withsalt and pepper. Stir in the remaining olive oil. Spread a thin layer oftomatoes in the baking dish or Dutch oven and top with one-third ofthe onions and garlic. Top with half the potato slices. Season withsalt and pepper. Layer half the zucchini slices over the potatoes andseason, then layer on half the eggplant, half the peppers and half theokra, if using. Sprinkle on half the parsley, about a third of themarjoram or oregano and some pepper. Layer another third of the onionsover the vegetables and top with half of the remaining tomatoes.Sprinkle with half the remaining marjoram or oregano. Repeat the layerswith the remaining vegetables, ending with a layer of onions topped withthe remaining tomatoes. Sprinkle with the remaining herbs. Pour thejuice from the tomatoes over the mixture.

Cover with foil or a lid and bake for 1 1/2 hours. Press the vegetables down into the juice and bake another30 minutes, or until all the vegetables are thoroughly tender. Cooluntil warm before serving, or refrigerate overnight and reheat. If thereis too much liquid, strain in a colander set over a bowl, reduce thejuices over medium-high heat (place a flame tamer over the burner ifyou’re using the earthenware dish) and pour over the vegetables.

Yield: 8 to 10 servings.