Professor Catherine Itsiopoulos: briami vegetable bake

Vegetable bake (briami)

• 1 medium eggplant, cut into large cubes
• salt
• 2 medium zucchini, cut into 1 cm slices
• 2 medium carrots, cut into 1 cm slices
• 250 g broccoli, cut into large florets
• 250 g cauliflower, cut into large florets
• 3 small brown or red onions, cut into quarters
• 3 medium potatoes, cut into 1 cm slices
• 2 small red capsicums, cut into large chunks
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1/3 cup (80ml) extra virgin olive oil
• 3 medium tomatoes, blanched and peeled, or 1X440g can whole peeled tomatoes
• 1 cup (250ml) hot water
• freshly milled sea salt, to taste
• freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• dried oregano, to taste
• crusty bread, to serve

This colourful vegetarian dish can be made with any vegetable combination. It can be served as a side dish or as a meal in itself.

Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius (160 degrees Celsius fan-forced).

Place eggplants in salted water for 20 minutes to draw out bitterness, then drain.

Place drained eggplants, zucchini, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, onions, potatoes, capsicum, whole peeled garlic cloves and olive oil in  large baking dish on the stove top and saute over medium heat for 5-10 minutes (do not brown).

Add tomatoes and hot water and mix well, then season to taste, add oregano to taste and bake for 30 minutes, checking regularly and adding extra hot water if necessary.

Nutrition composition per serve

Professor Catherine Itsiopoulos is Head of the School of Allied Health, La Trobe University. She is the author of The Mediterranean Diet and The Mediterranean Diet Cookbook.

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