Roast Vegetable Medley (Briam)

Beginner Cook - Lengthy Cooking Time - Main Course - Side Dish - Vegan - Vegetarian - Gluten-Free

This roast vegetable medley or "Briam" in Greek, is an excellent vegetable dish. It reminds me of a french "ratatouille", only better. As the naturally occurring sugars in the zucchini, tomato, onion, and garlic bake, they caramelize, vastly changing and enhancing the flavors of the vegetables. This caramelization is key. As such, it is essential to bake this dish for the requisite amount of time. In fact, my approach with this specific recipe is "when in doubt, bake more". Depending on the water content of the different vegetables, it isn't uncommon for me to bake the dish for an additional 30 minutes just to ensure that all the vegetables have sufficiently caramelized. Olive oil is the second most important aspect of this recipe. Without sufficient olive oil, the vegetables won't caramelize correctly. So, don't skimp on the oil! This medley can be eaten hot or at room temperature and does well as a main dish served with some bread , a side dish with meat or fish, or on top of pasta or rice.

Ingredients (Serves 4)

• 8 zucchinis
  
• 4 yukon gold potatoes
  
• 1 large tomato
  
• 1 large garlic clove
  
• 1 medium red onion
  
• 1 teaspoon oregano
  
• 1 and 1/4 teaspoon salt
  
• 3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

Time - 1 hours and 45 minutes

• Preparation - 15 minutes
• Cooking - 1 hour and 30 minutes

Preparation

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees
• Wash the zucchini, cut into rounds, and place in a large baking pan

• Peel and cut the onion and place with the zucchini in the pan

• Wash and cut the tomato and add to the pan

• Peel and cut the potatoes and add to the pan

• Peel and chop the garlic and add to the pan

• Pour the olive oil over the vegetables
• Sprinkle the oregano and salt over the vegetables
• With your hands, mix the vegetables in the pan to evenly distribute the oregano and salt and ensure that all of the vegetables are well coated with olive oil

• Place in the oven and bake at 400 degrees for 1 hour and 45 minutes
• After 45 minutes, depending on the positioning of the vegetables you may find that they are browning unevenly (more on the sides and less in the center). If this is the case, you can stir the vegetables around in the pan to redistribute them for the remainder of the baking time
• After the 1 hour and 30 minutes of baking, the top vegetables should be nicely caramelized as shown below. If needed, bake for an additional 30 minutes