Rick Stein’s repertoire of recipes draws inspiration from his life in Padstow, Cornwall and some of the world’s farthest corners.
One of his biggest influences is the Mediterranean, which Rick blends with Cornish charm to create a unique traybake.
As featured in his BBC series, Rick Stein’s Cornwall, this Cornish briam recipe is well worth trying in place of your go-to sausage or chicken traybake formula.
The chef said: “Briam is a Greek slow-cooked roast vegetable dish. No need to fry, no need to stir and you can use any vegetable you have in the fridge.”
When choosing the vegetables for briam, the different colours and textures are worth considering.
Rick’s recipe calls for a mixture of new potatoes, carrots, onion, broccoli, tomato and courgettes.
Potatoes, whether white or sweet, are a worthy staple for giving the dish some sustenance if you’re serving it as a main course, but there are endless possibilities for the accompanying vegetables.
Why not try squash, spinach, peppers, mushrooms or green beans?
As for how to serve it, the dish pairs delightfully with grains or meat, such as roasted chicken, meatballs, and lamb koftas, for a Mediterranean twist.
Cornish briam recipe
Ingredients
- 150ml extra virgin rapeseed oil
- 500g waxy new potatoes, peeled and cut lengthways
- 400g carrots, sliced lengthways
- Two large courgettes (about 400g), sliced lengthways
- One large onion, sliced
- Five to six garlic cloves, sliced
- 300g Tenderstem broccoli
- Four large tomatoes, thickly sliced
- 25 flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
- A few spring of fresh thyme leaves
- 200ml passata
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
This recipe requires a large roasting tin (about 25 x 35cm) or a shallow casserole dish with a lid.
Method
Preheat the oven to 190C/170C Fan/Gas 5, then measure two tablespoons of the oil to grease the roasting tin or casserole dish.
Chop the potatoes lengthways into 5 cm slices, then layer them in the tin in a single layer. Season the spuds with salt and pepper before doing the same with the sliced carrots.
Season the carrot layer before adding a layer of courgettes, followed by the onion and garlic, and season once more. Next, scatter over the broccoli and cover with the thickly sliced tomatoes.
Sprinkle over the herbs and a final seasoning of salt and pepper. Then, mix together the passata and the remaining oil in a jug and pour over the vegetables.
Finally, cover the roasting tin tightly with foil or put a tight-fitting lid on the pan and bake for one and a half hours. If the vegetables have released a lot of liquid, pour it into a pan and reduce it to a thick and tasty sauce.
Return the liquid to the pan of vegetables and allow it to cool slightly before serving it in four to six main portions.
