The Briam - Μπριάμ

 

 

The Briam

Ingredients
4 large floury potatoes (about 900 g), peeled and cut into 1-1.5 cm-thick slices
3 medium-sized zucchinis (about 750 g), cut into 1-1.5 cm-thick slices
3 onions (about 200 g), thinly sliced*
4 small eggplants** (about 600 g), cut into 2-2.5 cm-thick slices
3 small green bell peppers (about 450 g), cut in large pieces
A handful (about 25 g) fresh flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped plus extra for sprinkling over the dishes
4 medium-sized tomatoes (about 500 g), chopped or 400 g canned chopped tomatoes
250 ml extra virgin olive oil
65 g tomato paste
350 ml water
Sea salt (or any other salt, I just always use sea salt in my cooking)
Black pepper, freshly ground
Special equipment: large baking pan

Preparation
Preheat your oven to 200 degrees Celsius.
It is best if you sprinkle a little salt and pepper after the addition of each type of vegetable rather than solely at the end.
First, place the potatoes at the bottom of your baking pan and add the sliced zucchinis on top. Those two vegetables need to be at the bottom of the pan because they require more time to cook. Then add half of the onions, followed by the sliced eggplants. Then add the rest of the onions and the bell peppers. Add the tomatoes and sprinkle the chopped parsley on top. Add the tomato paste to the 350 ml of water and stir well to dissolve. Pour it all over the vegetables along with the olive oil. Add a last sprinkling of salt and pepper. Mix a little with a large spoon without messing up the vegetable layers and place the baking pan on the lower rack of the preheated oven.
Check the vegetables every half hour, mixing each time carefully with a large spoon.
The briam will be ready after about 2 hours or when the vegetables are soft, have taken on a golden brown color and have become crispy around the edges. The tomato sauce at the bottom of the pan must be shiny and rich.
Allow to cool slightly and serve. Sprinkle some fresh chopped parsley on top if you want.

It freezes extremely well so if you have any left, put it in an airtight container suitable for the freezer and enjoy it any other day you want.

*In case you don't like the texture of onions, you can grate them with a box grater or chop them finely.
** If you want to take the bitterness out of the eggplants, sprinkle the slices with some salt and leave them inside a colander for an hour. Then rinse them well and squeeze them lightly to get a little bit of their juice out.