Recipe: Briam

"Briam" (Bree-Am) is a delicious traditional Greek potato and vegetable bake. I had this dish loads of times when i went to Crete a few years ago, and completely fell in love with it. It's the simplicity of Greek food that i adore so much. I got a traditional Cretan cookery book, and most of the recipes have a few ingredients, cooked simply, and all of which usually(even the desserts) contain lashing of good olive oil! Traditionally you would crumble a type of mild goat's cheese called "Mizithra" over the top once it's come out of the oven, but I can't find it anywhere in England, so I use Feta, which seems to me to be the closest alternative to it.

Briam (serves 4)

550g courgettes, halved and sliced
550g potatoes, peeled and sliced fairly thinly
4 large ripe tomatoes, 2 squished up, 2 sliced into wedges
1 red onion, sliced thinly
3 garlic cloves, crushed
3 tbsp chopped fresh parsley, plus extra for garnish
1 tbsp cumin
2 tbsp dried oregano
200ml vegetable stock
60ml extra virgin olive oil
Salt and black pepper
50g feta cheese, crumbled

1. Heat to 180C. Mix all the ingredients together well in a large bowl. Pour the mixture into a large baking/roasting dish, and smooth over as much as possible.
2. Put into the oven for 55 minutes. Every 15 minutes with a spoon, “pat down” the vegetables as much as possible. This is to make sure the potato cooks. You should not stir the mixture; otherwise it will break down too much.
3. Once the potato is cooked, and the dish looks well roasted, take out of the oven and crumble over the feta cheese and some extra chopped fresh parsley. Serve!