Greek Vegetarian Cookery - The Perfect Briam!
Want to re-create that authentic Greek holiday taverna experience? Then try my recipe for briam! It's the Greek version of roast vegetables, and delicious as a veggie main course or as an accompaniment. As a regular holidaymaker in Greece I've spent lots of time trying to re-create the perfect briam as served in real Greek tavernas. This recipe is the fruit of my labours. In my humble opinion it wouldn't disgrace a real Greek dinner table...
If you go to most Greek restaurants in the UK, you might think vegetarians have a thin time of it in Greece. The staple dishes served are all meat-based, including moussaka, kleftiko, stifado, and so on. However, if you go to Greece you will find a range of very tasty veggie dishes on offer as well, from gemista (roast vegetables stuffed with rice) to giant beans, spinach pies to saganaki (grilled cheese)
Briam is one of my personal favourites. It's a symphony for the taste buds, and an ideal dish to serve to anyone who thinks all vegetarian cooking must be bland or boring. Here's what you'll need in my version. It will serve three to four people (though it's easy to scale the ingredients for more or fewer than this).
700g courgettes, sliced 1/4 inch thick
450g potatoes, peeled and sliced 1/4 inch thick
1 large aubergine (eggplant), cut into roughly 1/2 inch cubes
1 can of plum tomatoes, coarsely chopped
1 green pepper, cut into thin slices
2-3 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 medium onion, finely chopped
half-cup of olive oil
1 tablespoon dried oregano
salt and pepper to taste
water
Greek feta cheese
1. Preheat the oven to 170 degrees Celsius/325 degrees Fahrenheit/Gas Mark 3.
2. Heat two tablespoons of olive oil in a frying pan and saute the onions and garlic for five minutes.
3. Place all the sliced vegetables in a large, shallow baking dish, along with the tomatoes and oregano. Add the cooked onions and garlic, season with salt and pepper, and mix well. Add the remaining olive oil, and enough water to come about two-thirds of the way up the vegetables.
4. Bake for 2 to 2 1/2 hours, or until all the vegetables are tender. Every 20 to 30 minutes turn the vegetables over so that they are evenly cooked and the top level isn't burned to a crisp!
5. Remove from the oven and serve with feta cheese crumbled over the top, and a large glass of chilled retsina. Kali orexi! (good appetite!).
A few extra notes...
* The potatoes are what really make this dish in my opinion. Ideally I like to use baby new potatoes, halved or quartered.
* You can add other veg if you like. Carrots don't seem to figure much in Greek cooking, but I think they go well in this recipe. If you decide to use them, slice them quite thin (no more than 1/8 inch) and check that they are cooked through before serving.
* Artichokes can also work well. If you use fresh ones, trim the outer leaves and parboil them for a few minutes beforehand. You can also buy artichoke hearts in jars, and these can be added as they come.
* Don't overdo the olive oil! This was my biggest mistake when I first tried cooking this dish. Too much, and it comes out heavy and glutinous. Use a modest amount, as in this recipe. This lets the flavour of the oil come through, but keeps the texture crisp and light.
* I've never actually had briam served with feta cheese in Greece, but I saw it in a recipe I found on the Internet and have been doing it this way ever since. The sharp, salty flavour of the cheese is the perfect complement to the roast vegetable flavours. Try it yourself and see!
* In the unlikely event that you make too much you can reheat this dish the next day and it will taste even more delicious. It also freezes well. Enjoy!
Copyright: Nick Daws
February 2008
