Ingredients 1 kg tender zucchini 4 medium potatoes 4 garlic 1 small onion 1 tbsp tomato paste 3 grated tomatoes 1/2 coarsely chopped parsley Salt Pepper 150 ml olive oil Equipment Baking tray Oven TAGS SAVORY ZUCCHINI MAIN COURSES VEGAN VEGETARIAN GREEK SUMMER FOODS TRADITIONAL FOODS MOM-MADE FOODS Ingredients 1 kg tender zucchini 4 medium potatoes 4 garlic 1 small onion 1 tbsp tomato paste 3 grated tomatoes 1/2 coarsely chopped parsley Salt Pepper 150 ml olive oil Instructions PREPARATION Cut the zucchini into 1 cm slices. Peel the potatoes and cut them into slices slightly smaller than 1 cm, i.e., thinner than the zucchini. Cut the small onion into slices and the garlic into thin slices. Finely chop the parsley. We will use a 35 cm baking pan that can hold all the ingredients in one layer so that everything cooks properly and browns all around. In baked zucchini, as in stewed green beans, I don’t add any water during cooking. IN THE BAKING PAN Place the potatoes, zucchini, garlic, onion, parsley, tomato paste, and grated fresh tomatoes in the baking pan. Add salt and pepper and pour over the olive oil. Mix all the ingredients very well. Spread them out to form a single layer across the entire surface of the baking pan. Cover the baking pan for the first half hour of baking. Bake in a well-preheated oven at 200ºC on the lower rack using the bottom heating element. Bake for a total of about 1 hour or until browned all around, absorbing all the vegetable juices, and left almost with just the oil. Let it stand for 10-15 minutes in the turned-off oven. The zucchini is served warm or at room temperature with feta cheese and fresh bread. Tips The zucchini should be tender, around 200g each, with firm flesh and no seeds in the center. The potatoes should be medium-sized, around 150-180g each, so that all the vegetables cook in the same amount of time. I let the vegetables cook in their own juices, and the flavor of the dish is unparalleled. Besides, that was my grandmother’s secret for Briam. Don’t omit the tomato paste. On all the islands, a little tomato paste in the Briam elevates the final result and leaves the sweetness of the tomato in the oil in the pan. Briam is baked better using the bottom heating element than with the fan. The fan will dry out the surface of the vegetables quickly, and the potatoes won’t have time to cook properly inside and caramelize in the center. If you don’t like the vegetables of the Briam to be over-roasted at the bottom of the pan, you can make a layer of tomato and onion slices all over the pan and place the Briam on top. This way, the potatoes will cook and soften, and the Briam will be juicier. TAGS SAVORY ZUCCHINI MAIN COURSES VEGAN VEGETARIAN GREEK SUMMER FOODS TRADITIONAL FOODS MOM-MADE FOODS
