a dish from greece —

Briam

Greece 110 min total Serves 6 Easy

Greece Village Recipes Vegetarian Easter Recipes

the history —

How this dish came to life

Briam is what every Greek garden becomes in August. You go out with a basket, you come back with everything ripe at once — zucchini, eggplant, potato, peppers, onions, tomatoes — and you turn the whole haul into one tray. There is no chopping in finger-perfect cubes, no measuring with cups. Yiayia slices everything thick with the side of a knife she's had for forty years, layers it in the deep tapsí, blends two more tomatoes with olive oil and a fist of oregano, pours it over the top, and slides the tray into the oven. Then she sits on the back step and shells beans for tomorrow, because briam asks for nothing once it's in. An hour and a half later the kitchen smells like a small village. The vegetables have collapsed into each other, the edges have caramelised, and the oil at the bottom of the tray is the colour of late afternoon. You eat it with bread and a slab of feta, on the porch, while the cicadas argue.

Cultural significance

Briam is one of the great laderá — the 'oily' dishes of the Greek table, cooked in olive oil and never with meat. It is a Lenten staple, a Friday supper, a Sunday lunch in the heat of summer when nobody wants to be near the stove. Like most laderá it tastes even better the day after it's made — proof of the Greek wisdom that food, like people, needs time to become itself.

now let's cook

step by step

Instructions

1
Heat the oven to 180°C / 355°F. Choose a deep, wide baking tray — terracotta or ceramic if you have it.
2
Slice all the vegetables to a similar thickness, about 1cm, so they cook at the same rate. Don't be too neat about it — this is a peasant dish, not a Pinterest one.
3
Layer the vegetables loosely in the tray, mixing the colours as you go — eggplant, zucchini, potato, peppers, onion, tomato, scattered rather than arranged.
4
Blend the 2 extra tomatoes with the garlic, olive oil, oregano, a generous pinch of salt and plenty of black pepper until smooth. Pour evenly over the vegetables.
5
Drizzle a final thin thread of olive oil over the top. Cover the tray tightly with foil.
6
Bake covered for 1 hour. The vegetables will steam in their own juices and the potato will turn tender.
7
Remove the foil, give the tray a gentle stir from the bottom, and return to the oven for another 20–30 minutes — uncovered — until the top is golden, the edges have caramelised, and the oil pools dark and glossy at the corners.
8
Rest for 10 minutes. Scatter with fresh parsley, crumble over a generous amount of feta if you like, and serve warm with bread to mop the tray.

tips from the village —

Wisdom from grandmothers

01Don't skip the slow first hour under foil. Briam needs to steam before it roasts — that's what gives the vegetables their melting texture.
02Use the deepest tray you have. The juices are the best part — they should pool, not evaporate.
03Briam is one of those dishes that genuinely improves overnight. Make it ahead and serve at room temperature for a real Greek summer lunch.
04Choose ripe summer tomatoes for the blended sauce. Out of season, a tin of good San Marzano tomatoes works honestly well.

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