Mediterranean Vegetable Bake (Briam)
Layers of summer vegetables roasted slow with olive oil and herbs - pure vegetable heaven.
Briam is what we make when the garden gives us more vegetables than we know what to do with. Zucchini, tomatoes, potatoes, eggplant—all sliced and layered with lots of olive oil, then baked until everything is soft and sweet and a little caramelized.
This is the dish that makes people understand Mediterranean cooking. No meat needed. The vegetables are the star. Good olive oil makes them shine.
My mother made this in a big clay dish that’s older than me. The dish seasoned over years. But any baking dish works.
Ingredients
Instructions
- Salt the eggplant slices and let sit 20 minutes. This removes bitterness. Pat dry.
- Mix crushed tomatoes with half the olive oil, garlic, oregano, salt, and pepper.
- Spread a thin layer of tomato mixture on the bottom of a large baking dish.
- Layer vegetables in rows, alternating: potato, zucchini, eggplant, tomato, onion. Overlap them like roof tiles.
- Pour remaining tomato mixture over the vegetables.
- Drizzle generously with remaining olive oil. Don’t hold back.
- Cover with foil and bake at 190°C (375°F) for 45 minutes.
- Remove foil and bake another 30 minutes until vegetables are tender and top is golden.
- Let rest 10 minutes. Scatter fresh parsley on top.
Nutrition Facts
Per serving (approximate)
Tips from My Kitchen
This dish is best at room temperature, not hot from the oven. In Greece, we’d make it in the morning and eat it for lunch. The flavors settle, the olive oil pools in the dish, you soak it up with bread.
You can add bell peppers, green beans, even okra. Whatever your garden or market gives you. The method stays the same: layer, oil, bake slow.
Leftovers are wonderful. Mash them a little with a fork, put on toast with feta. Breakfast of champions.
Kalí órexi!
