Briam – Definitely Not Greek Ratatouille is a classic Greek dish which just happens to be gluten-free and vegan. This is my version. It is often served with feta cheese in Greece. I have seen it written that Briam is a Greek version of Ratatouille but it depends which part of Europe you are looking from. Maybe ratatouille is a French form of Briam. Non? It is baked rather than cooked in a pan on the cooker top and its base is olive oil rather than tomatoes – both are delicious and have their place in my kitchen.
I really enjoyed this dish on a late summer holiday to Paxos. I had never heard of Briam before and every place I tried the dish it was totally different – varying vegetable proportions, more or less olive oil – it was however always earthy, I could taste every vegetable and it was sustaining.
This is a deeply warming and earthy dish and goes really well with Cabbage and Carrot Salad for a hearty autumnal (totally in season) meal.
Allergy Information – Briam – Definitely Not Greek Ratatouille
Briam – Definitely Not Greek Ratatouille is gluten-free and vegan as well as… celery free, coconut free, garlic free, lupin free, mustard free, onion free, peanut free, sesame free, soya free, tree nut free.
Top Tips – Briam – Definitely Not Greek Ratatouille
Slice the vegetables to an even thickness to ensure they all cook at the same rate.
Recipe – Briam – Definitely Not Greek Ratatouille
Difficulty easy
Serves 4-6
Preparation time 15 mins
Cooking time 90 mins
Ingredients – Briam – Definitely Not Greek Ratatouille
800 grams floury potatoes (e.g. Maris Piper)
3 medium-large (~500 grams) courgettes
2 large (~375 grams) beef tomatoes
1 large (~350 grams) aubergine
175 ml olive oil (good quality oil not extra-virgin)
1 tablespoon dried oregano
0.25 teaspoon sea salt
0.25 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Method – Briam – Definitely Not Greek Ratatouille
1. Preheat oven to 210 C (fan), gas mark 7
2. In a large oven proof dish (~25 cm in diameter) put a tablespoon of the olive oil in the bottom and swirl around to cover the bottom
3. Slice all the vegetables in 0.75-1 cm thick pieces. Keep the different vegetables separated as you will layer the dish
4. Place a layer of potato on top of the olive oil in the oven proof dish
5. Next place a layer of aubergine then a layer of tomato and then courgette
6. Repeat the layers
7. I like to finish with a layer of potato because I love crispy potatoes – but it is not traditional
8. Drizzle the remaining olive oil over the top and allow it to filter through the vegetables
9. Cover with foil to stop the potatoes burning and keep the dish juicy
10. Place the dish in to the oven – after 60 minutes remove the foil and check the dish
11. After 90 minutes check the vegetables have cooked through and now almost melt in to each other. The potatoes should be brown and crispy on top – if not pop back in the oven for another 10-15 minutes.
