Seasonal Summer Briam of Eggplant, Zucchini and Tomato

To honor Jason and the Argonauts and seasonal eats, here’s a briam — a Greek casserole of seasonal summer veggies. Many traditional recipes are oil guzzlers (fancy that). This has less oil but loads of flavor from the veggies themselves, and the produce and time does the work for you. Crusty on top, juicy on the bottom, it’s good over brown rice, quinoa or with crusty bread for soaking up sauce. Serve with a Greek—or any—salad.

Serves: 4

• 15-ounce can diced tomatoes
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 2 tablespoons olive oil plus, divided
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 1 pinch of cinnamon
• 1 potato, sliced
• 1 onion, sliced
• 1 red pepper, sliced
• 1 zucchini, sliced
• 1 eggplant, sliced
• Sea salt and pepper to taste
• 1 handful fresh chopped parsley
• 1 handful fresh chopped oregano

Preheat oven to 425º F.

In a small bowl, mix together diced tomatoes, tomato paste, 1 tablespoon of olive oil, chopped garlic, pinch of cinnamon and the lemon juice.

In a deep casserole or pie pan, arrange potato slices in a single layer. Spoon roughly 1/3 cup of the tomato sauce on top. It will not cover the potato slices entirely. Don’t worry.

Top with sliced onion. Repeat with 1/3 cup sauce.

Continue layering with sliced red pepper and sauce, zucchini and sauce and eggplant, topping with remaining sauce.

Drizzle with a tablespoon of olive oil, season with sea salt and pepper and bake for 30 minutes. Top with chopped parsley and oregano.

Good hot or room temperature. Keeps covered and refrigerated for days.

Ellen Kanner is the Huffington Post’s Meatless Monday blogger, the syndicated columnist The Edgy Veggie, and contributor  to publications including Culinate, Bon Appetit, and Every Day With Rachael Ray as  well as her own blog. 

• Enjoy VegKitchen’s selection of recipes for zucchini and other summer squashes.
• Explore more eggplant recipes on VegKitchen.
• Browse more of VegKitchen’s vegan casserole recipes.