Briam Vegetable Tart
Briam, one of the great simple summer stews and/or baked vegetable dishes of Greek cuisine, becomes a luscious tart in this easy recipe. To find some of the artisinal Greek products you'll need to make this, visit my online shop here, where you'll discover a host of lovingly curated Greek ingredients.
RATING
SERVES
6
PREP TIME
15 min
COOK TIME
60 min
Ingredients
- 1 sheet of puff pastry
- 5 tablespoons extra virgin Greek olive oil
- 1 medium eggplant diced
- 1 large onion finely chopped
- 1 green bell pepper finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 3 medium zucchini diced
- 1 tablespoon dried Greek oregano
- Salt and Pepper
- 1 can good quality plum or chopped tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon Greek balsamic vinegar
- 10 cherry or teardrop tomatoes sliced in half lengthwise
- 1 medium zucchini cut into 1/8-inch rounds
- 2 – 4 tablespoons plain dry breadcrumbs
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 350F / 175C.
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Heat half the olive oil and sauté the diced eggplant, onion and pepper for about five minutes over medium heat, to soften. Stir in the garlic. Stir in and gently cook the zucchini, seasoning all the vegetables with salt and pepper, for about 2 minutes.
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Add the canned tomatoes, tomato paste and vinegar and bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer all together for 5 minutes. Don’t overcook. Season with the dried oregano and additional salt and pepper if desired. Set aside to cool.
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Rollo out the puff pastry on a lightly floured surface so that it is large enough to fit inside a 10-inch / 25-cm tart pan with enough pastry to spare for the overhang around the perimeter of the pan. Spread the puff pastry sheet over a 10-inch tart pan. Gently press down.
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Using a fork, poke a few holes into the bottom surface of the pastry. Roll in the overhanging perimeter to form a decorative rim around the pie. Cover with aluminum foil and weigh the foil down with dried beans, then bake the puff pastry sheet for five minutes in the oeven. Remove and cool slightly.
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Spread the cooled briam vegetable filling over the surface of the pie. If the filling is very wet, you can strain it to remove excess liquid before placing inside pie. Decoratively place the sliced zucchini and tomato halves over the pie. Sprinkle with a little salt, pepper and oregano. Drizzle in remaining olive oil. Sprinkle with enough dried breadcrumbs to ensure that any excess liquid will be absorbed during baking. Bake for 45 minutes to one hour, until the pie is golden brown and the vegetable mixture thick. Remove, cool and serve.
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