Briam

Another Mediterranean rabbit-hole recipe.  I believe this one is Greek.  The regular closer at work is back from vacation, so I have time to make elaborate dinner recipes again.  I'm very aware the past few weeks have been phoning it in.

Briam is a basic vegetable casserole.  You can make it fancy by arranging the vegetables neatly, like I did, or just pile them in the casserole if you're not feeling it.

I grew an eggplant!  It has been a few years.  The rest of the fruit on the plant isn't doing quite as well, but I got one good one.  I was going to buy the zucchini the recipe actually calls for, or at least a yellow squash.  I stood there, looking at the shelf, and just couldn't do it.  I was not about to go to this much effort to make something with an ingredient I don't like.  Home-grown eggplant it is.

I tossed chickpeas and parmesan on top for protein, to make this a main dish, and had pesto on wheat toast for the starch.  It's common to have it with feta.  If you are not doing this as a vegetarian main, having it as a side with fish or chicken is a good option.  It's going to smell like a lasagna coming out of the oven, so keep that in mind when thinking of sides.

1 lb Yukon or gold potatoes
1 lb zucchini, yellow squash, or *eggplant
salt and pepper to taste
*2 tsp dried oregano
*1 tsp dried rosemary
*1/2 C chopped fresh parsley
*3 cloves garlic, minced
Olive oil as needed, about 1/4 C
1 medium red onion
*1 8oz can tomato sauce
*1 15oz can diced tomatoes, no salt if possible

1.  Scrub potatoes well.  Peel, if desired.  Slice thinly, no more than 1/4" thick.  I used the mandoline.  Slice the zucchini or eggplant the same thickness.

2.  In a bowl, toss together sliced vegetables with salt, pepper, oregano, rosemary, parsley, and garlic.  Add enough oil to coat the pieces lightly.  It's going to take more if you use eggplant, because they're little sponges.

3.  Preheat oven to 400º while you build the casserole.  Peel the onion and slice into 1/4" thick slices.  If it's a large onion, you may have to cut the slices in halves or quarters to get them the same diameter as the vegetables.  Pour the tomato sauce into the bottom of an 11" round casserole, or something with a similar surface area.

4.  Start arranging the veggies on top of the sauce.  I shingled them as eggplant-potato-onion all around the rim.  As I did the ring in the center, I knew I had more slices of potato than anything else and added an extra slice to the pattern.  If you don't want to get all fussy about it, go ahead and just throw it all in a 9x13 and just make sure the variety is represented in each spoonful.  Once all the vegetables are arranged, pour any remaining herbs and oil on top.

5.  Pour the can of diced tomatoes evenly on top of the casserole.  Cover lightly with foil and bake 45 minutes.  Remove foil and bake until the juices have reduced and all of the vegetables are cooked, another 30-40 minutes.  Yes, this is really going to bake close to an hour and a half.  That's why it had to wait until I had two hours to make dinner.  Allow to rest until no longer bubbling, then serve.

Difficulty rating  :)