Greek ratatouille is called Briam, and it’s delicious, full of hearty veggies and extra virgin olive oil goodness. Pair it with good cheese and crusty bread to dip in the sauce!
What is Briam?
Briam is a roasted vegetable dish with potatoes, zucchini, eggplants, tomatoes, onions, and lots of olive oil. It is a traditional Greek dish with a few simple ingredients that develop delicious flavors. It is very similar to the French ratatouille.
In this Greek ratatouille - Briam the veggies are the stars and truly shine. The flavors mingle together perfectly and create a phenomenal dish.
You can serve it as a side dish or be like a Greek and have it as a main dish with crusty bread to dip in the sauce. 🙂
How to make it
1. Prepare your vegetables. Slice the zucchini and eggplant and potatoes into coins, if the eggplant is too large, cut eggplant coins in half.
2. Thickly slice the garlic and halve and slice the onion.
3. Add all the veggies in a large bowl (or you can use the baking pan), season with salt and pepper, a generous pinch of oregano. Add half the olive oil all over. Mix gently.
4. In a large baking pan, start roughly stacking the veggies upwards. Mix them together, as you stack.
5. Place tomatoes in a bowl, crush them with your hand and add them between the vegetables. Add another generous pinch of oregano and season again with salt and freshly ground pepper.
6. Add the rest of the olive oil, the broth (or water), and stuff the thyme sprigs between the veggies. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for at least two hours. Remove cover after an hour. Remove from heat, let it sit for 20 min, and adjust salt and pepper to taste.
Note: I recommend checking the food while cooking to make sure it is done to your liking. The potatoes need to be fully cooked, soft, and buttery with nice crispy edges. Please don't disturb the veggies while they cook too much; that way, the zucchini, and eggplant will retain their shape. The sauce should not be thin and watery. In Greece, we say we want the sauce and veggies to "melosei," which means honey-like. It does not literally mean the food to become sweet. All the flavors mellow out from the herbs, tomatoes, and olive oil and are slightly sweet, savory, and delicious.
The Greek Ratatouille - Briam is the kind of food you can't keep you hands off. Whenever I make it I find myself being in the kitchen more often, sneaking out a potato or dipping a piece of bread to that glorious sauce. I also eat it as a snack, or load it up for lunch in a bowl with cheese and a piece of bread. I don't bother to heat it up because it tastes great at room temperature. It is a lovely dish with the aroma of Greece and endless summers.
Tips & Tricks
- This is the time of using what we have handy so don't hesitate to substitute vegetables for the ones you have in your pantry. You can add sliced bell peppers in the mix, all colors, as well as yellow squash and mushrooms. Add okra or even cauliflower. It will be delicious.
- If you don't have broth use one or two bouillon cubes diluted in warm water. If none is available just water will do fine.
- I love pairing Briam with some kind of cheese. The Queen of cheese in Greece is Feta so that is my go-to but I also love adding shavings of good parmesan like it is shown here.
- Greek Ratatouille - Briam can also be cooked on the stove in a large pot. Follow the same steps apart from stacking the slices, there is no need for that. Feel free to cut the veggies differently, into medium cubes for example. Cook in medium-low heat and keep an eye often in case you need to adjust liquids.
- For easiness I use good quality canned tomatoes when I make Briam. My favorites are Gustarosso San Marzano DOP. Please feel free to use your preferred canned tomatoes. If not using San Marzanno mix a tsp of sugar or honey to crushed tomatoes before mixing with the veggies.
You may also like:
- This Greek Lentil Soup fakes is a hearty and comforting meal for the whole family.
- This beef ragú pasta is slow-cooked to allows flavors to develop and shine.
- This delicious chicken gyro souvlaki has juicy, tender chicken thighs, homemade Greek pita bread, a honey mustard aioli, and lots of aromatics.
Check out my Greek pantry staples
Cooked this? Rate this recipe! You can also leave a comment below. I love hearing from you!
WANT TO EAT LIKE A GREEK? Subscribe to my newsletter and follow me on Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram for all of the latest updates.
Briam, the Greek ratatouille
Ingredients
- 1 onion halved and sliced
- 1 large eggplant cut in ¼ inch slices/coins, if too big cut slice in half.
- 1 large zucchini or 2 medium ones, cut in ¼ inch slices/coins
- 5-6 potatoes medium size, sliced in ⅙ inch slices
- 14 oz tomatoes crushed, I used Custarosso
- 5-6 garlic cloves sliced thick
- 1 cup olive oil extra virgin
- fresh thyme leaves
- Greek oregano
- sea salt
- freshly ground pepper
- 1 cup broth can be chicken or veggie, if not available use water
For serving
- parmesan cheese shavings optional
- fresh thyme leaves optional
- red chili pepper flakes optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 F
- Prepare your vegetables. Slice the zucchini and eggplant and potatoes into coins, if the eggplant is too large, cut eggplant coins in half.
- Thickly slice the garlic and halve and slice the onion.
- Add all the veggies in a large bowl (or you can use the baking pan), season with salt and pepper, a generous pinch of oregano. Add half the oilve oil all over. Mix gently.
- In a large baking pan, start roughly stacking the veggies upwards. Mix them together, as you stack.
- Place tomatoes in a bowl, crush them with your hand and add them between the vegetables. Add another generous pinch of oregano and season again with salt and freshly ground pepper.
- Add the rest of the olive oil, the broth (or water) and stuff the thyme sprigs between the veggies.
- Cover with aluminum foil and bake for at least two hours. Remove cover after an hour. Remove from heat, let it sit for 20 min and adjust salt and pepper to taste.
Notes
- Check the food while cooking to make sure it is done to your liking. The potatoes need to be fully cooked, soft, and buttery with crispy edges. Don't disturb the veggies while they cook too much; that way, the zucchini and eggplant will retain their shape. The sauce should not be thin and watery. You want all the flavors mellow out from the herbs, tomatoes, and olive oil and are slightly sweet, savory, and delicious.
- You can add sliced bell peppers in the mix, yellow squash, and even mushrooms.
- In Greece, we usually use fresh crushed tomatoes, but I don't mind using good-quality canned tomatoes. If using conventional canned tomatoes, consider mixing a tsp of sugar in the tomatoes before adding to the food. If using canned San Marzano tomatoes dip, like Gustarosso, there is no need to add any sugar.
- You can substitute sugar for honey.
- Best served warm or at room temperature. Make sure you have lots of bread, the sauce is irresistible 🙂
- For serving, sprinkle red chili pepper flakes all over, some thyme leaves, and parmesan shavings.
