Greek Vegetable Bake Food

GREEK BAKED VEGETABLES (BRIAM)

Steps:

• If the eggplant is thin and long, slice it about 1/4-inch thick. If it's fat, halve it lengthwise, then slice in 1/4-inch-thick half-moons. Sprinkle with salt and put on paper towels for 30 minutes. Thinly slice the onions and mince the garlic. Cut the potatoes, zucchini and peppers into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Squeeze excess water from eggplant and pat dry.
• Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil over medium heat in a large, heavy skillet and add the onions. Stir often, until tender and translucent, about 8 minutes. Add a generous pinch of salt and stir in the garlic. Cook for another minute or two, until fragrant.
• Lightly oil a deep earthenware baking dish or a heavy Dutch oven. Put the tomatoes in a bowl and season liberally with salt and pepper. Stir in the remaining olive oil. Spread a thin layer of tomatoes in the baking dish or Dutch oven and top with one-third of the onions and garlic. Top with half the potato slices. Season with salt and pepper. Layer half the zucchini slices over the potatoes and season, then layer on half the eggplant, half the peppers and half the okra, if using. Sprinkle on half the parsley, about a third of the marjoram or oregano and some pepper. Layer another third of the onions over the vegetables and top with half of the remaining tomatoes. Sprinkle with half the remaining marjoram or oregano. Repeat the layers with the remaining vegetables, ending with a layer of onions topped with the remaining tomatoes. Sprinkle with the remaining herbs. Pour the juice from the tomatoes over the mixture.
• Cover with foil or a lid and bake for 1 1/2 hours. Press the vegetables down into the juice and bake another 30 minutes, or until all the vegetables are thoroughly tender. Cool until warm before serving, or refrigerate overnight and reheat. If there is too much liquid, strain in a colander set over a bowl, reduce the juices over medium-high heat (place a flame tamer over the burner if you're using the earthenware dish) and pour over the vegetables.

BRIAM (GREEK BAKED ZUCCHINI AND POTATOES)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
• Spread potatoes, zucchini, and red onions in a 9x13-inch baking dish, or preferably a larger one. Use 2 baking dishes if necessary. Cover with pureed tomatoes, olive oil, parsley. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper. Toss all ingredients together so that the vegetables are evenly coated.
• Bake in the preheated oven, stirring after 1 hour, until vegetables are tender and moisture has evaporated, about 90 minutes. Cool slightly before serving, or serve at room temperature.

GREEK VEGETABLE BAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• In a 2-quart baking dish coated with cooking spray, layer half the beans, zucchini, carrots, potato, onion and celery.
• Top with half of tomato sauce.
• Combine seasonings and sprinkle half over tomato sauce.
• Repeat layers.
• Cover and bake 70-80 minutes, until vegetables are tender.

TRADITIONAL GREEK SUMMER ROASTED VEGETABLES (BRIAMI)

Steps:

• Prepare all your vegetables by slicing the eggplants, potatoes, and zucchini into ½" slices. Next, chop the onions and the garlic, cut the peppers into 1" chunks, and mince the fresh herbs.
• Preheat the oven to 375°F.
• Drizzle some of the olive oil into a large frying pan, set over medium heat. When the oil is hot, cook the eggplants for 5-6 minutes until they become soft and golden brown (you might need to add a bit more olive oil during the frying, as the eggplants absorb a good amount of olive oil as they cook). Transfer the eggplant to a large, ovenproof dish.
• To the same frying pan add some more olive oil, and, once the oil is heated, add the chopped onion and peppers. Cook for two minutes and add the garlic. Cook a few minutes more, then transfer to the baking dish.
• Add the potatoes and the zucchini to the baking dish-uncooked--and toss. Cut the tomatoes into chunks (or in half, if you are using cherry tomatoes), and add them to the dish along with the tomato passata, the dried and fresh herbs, and the remaining olive oil. Season everything generously with salt and pepper to taste and combine gently.
• Pour ¾ cup of the water into the corner of the baking dish then tilt it so the water distributes evenly.
• Bake for about 45-60 minutes, or, until the vegetables are soft and golden brown. Make sure to check the liquid in the dish (about half way through) and add the rest of the water if necessary. At the end of the cooking time, there should be just a little sauce at the bottom of the baking dish.
• Let the briam rest for 10 minutes or so to cool down slightly. Serve warm or at room temperature with some Greek Feta on the side and some delicious bread to mop up the sauce!

GREEK INSPIRED CHICKEN & VEGETABLE BAKE

Steps:

• Peel the sweet potato and pumpkin and slice into 1/4 inch thick slices. Cook (boil or roast) until just soft. Drain, chop roughly and set aside.
• Quickly cook the spinach down until just wilted. Set aside.
• Toast the pine nuts under a grill (broiler) or in a frypan until brown all over, being careful not to burn. Set aside.
• Slice the feta cheese, and grate the mild cheese.
• Take the chicken meat off the carcase and break into bite size pieces.
• Set oven to 180°C.
• In a frypan, saute the onions (diced) in the chicken stock. As the onions approach being cooked (translucent) add the chicken, mustard, garlic, salt & pepper and heat through, then slowly add the cream, stirring frequently until the cream is at a light boil. Simmer, still stirring, for approx 5 minutes.
• Add the pinenuts and the mild cheese and stir through.
• In a lasagne or deep casserole dish, layer in thirds in the following order - spinach, pumpkin mix, chicken mix, feta slices, then repeat until the three layers have been achieved.
• Bake for 15 minutes.

GREEK FETA TRAYBAKE

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7. Cut or tear the pitta breads into chunks or triangles and put on a large baking tray. Drizzle over 1 tsp oil and scatter over half the oregano and some black pepper, then toss to combine. Arrange the pitta pieces in a single layer and bake for 10 mins until golden and crunchy.
• Remove the pitta chips from the tray, then add the onion wedges, beans and courgettes. Coat with the remaining oil and oregano, season and roast for 10 mins.
• Toss in the tomatoes and olives, then scatter the feta over the top. Roast for another 10 mins, until the veg is soft and the feta is starting to turn golden. Scatter the pitta chips over the top or around the side of the tray, and squeeze over the lemon wedges before serving half the traybake. Leave the rest of the traybake to cool for use in the lunchboxes, see tip below.