This dish is essentially the Greek answer to ratatouille, often called Briam. It’s one of those recipes that looks impressive because of the shingled vegetables, but functionally, it’s just a simple roast. I started making this when my garden was overflowing with zucchini and I couldn’t face another loaf of zucchini bread.
The beauty here is that the vegetables stew in their own juices mixed with the olive oil. I’ll be honest—slicing everything takes a solid fifteen minutes, and if you have a mandoline slicer, use it (just watch your fingers). The result is a soft, melting tray of vegetables that tastes even better after it has sat on the counter for twenty minutes. It’s definitely a “dip your bread in the oil” kind of meal.
Ingredients
- 1 large potato (peeled or unpeeled), sliced into ⅛ inch rounds
- 1 medium eggplant, sliced into rounds
- 1 medium zucchini, sliced into rounds
- 2–3 firm tomatoes (like Roma), sliced
- 1 red onion, sliced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- ⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil (don’t skimp, the veggies need it)
- 1 tsp dried oregano or thyme
- Salt and black pepper
- For Serving: Feta cheese, Kalamata olives, and crusty bread
Instructions
- Prep: Preheat oven to 375°F. Coat the bottom of your baking dish with a splash of the olive oil and the minced garlic.
- The Assembly: Arrange the vegetables in rows or a spiral. Grab a stack—potato, eggplant, zucchini, onion, tomato—and place them standing up in the dish, leaning slightly. Repeat until the dish is full. If you have gaps, just wedge leftover slices in wherever they fit.
- Season: Sprinkle heavily with salt (potatoes soak up a lot), pepper, and the dried herbs. Pour the rest of the olive oil over the top.
- Steam-Roast: Cover the pan tightly with foil. Bake for 40 minutes. The foil traps the steam to ensure the potatoes cook through.
- Crisp: Remove the foil. Bake for another 20 to 30 minutes. The liquid in the pan should reduce, and the tips of the vegetables should start to brown.
- Serve: Top with feta and olives immediately.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Presentation: It looks beautiful on the table without requiring advanced culinary skills—just patience with stacking.
- Dietary Friendly: Naturally gluten-free and vegetarian (vegan if you skip the feta at the end).
- Leftovers: Unlike crisp roasted veggies that get soggy, this is meant to be soft, so it reheats perfectly or eats well cold.
Chef’s Tips for Perfection
- Potato Thickness: The potato is the hardest vegetable to cook here. Slice it thinner than the eggplant and zucchini. If the potato is thick, it will still be crunchy when the zucchini is mush.
- Eggplant Prep: If you find eggplant bitter, you can salt the slices and let them sweat for 15 minutes before assembling. I usually skip this step because roasting tends to mellow the flavor anyway.
- Tomato Sauce Hack: If you want a “sauce” consistency at the bottom, spread a thin layer of crushed canned tomatoes or marinara on the bottom of the dish before adding the garlic and veggies.
Storage and Reheating
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. You can reheat it in the microwave, but putting it back in a 350°F oven for 10 minutes helps wake up the texture.
Nutritional Notes
This is a vegetable-heavy dish, but the calorie count comes largely from the olive oil and feta. A serving usually lands around 320 calories. It provides a good amount of fiber and healthy fats.
