I always think of September as perfect ratatouille weather….all the tomatoes, zucchini, eggplant and plethora of red, yellow and green peppers. While I love ratatouille sometimes you have to change it up. I wasn't thrilled with the last batch I made (I just should have cooked the tomatoes a bit longer and added a bit more seasoning I think). I remembered that last September at a house concert I had tried making briam, a Greek version of ratatoille and really loved it. It's very similar but it is layered in a casserole dish and includes potatoes which makes it seem a bit heartier to me. It's flavored with oregano and parsley as opposed to the basil or thyme of ratouille. I liked it because I was serving it at a party and  it seemed to stand on it's own for vegetarians/vegans but worked fine as a side dish as well. I got this recipe from an article by Martha Rose Shulman about ratatouille and how many cultures have a similar vegetable dish. I still need to try the Turkish one!

Briam (Greek Baked Vegetables)
by Martha Rose Shulman via the New York Times

1 medium eggplant
Salt
2 medium red onions
4 large garlic cloves
1 1/2 pounds potatoes, scrubbed, peeled if desired
1 1/2 pounds zucchini
2 large bell peppers, seeded
1/3 to 2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil, to taste
2 pounds tomatoes, grated or peeled, seeded and chopped, or a 28-ounce can, drained
Black pepper
1/2 to 1 pound small okra, ends trimmed, optional
1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
2 tablespoons chopped marjoram or oregano, or 2 teaspoons dried.

If the eggplant is thin and long, slice it about
1/4-inch thick. If it’s fat, halve it lengthwise, then slice in
1/4-inch-thick half-moons. Sprinkle with salt and put on paper towels
for 30 minutes. Thinly slice the onions and mince the garlic. Cut the
potatoes, zucchini and peppers into

1/4-inch-thick slices. Squeeze excess water from eggplant and pat dry.

Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Heat 2 tablespoons of
the olive oil over medium heat in a large, heavy skillet and add the
onions. Stir often, until tender and translucent, about 8 minutes. Add a
generous pinch of salt and stir in the garlic. Cook for another minute
or two, until fragrant.

Lightly oil a deep earthenware baking dish or a
heavy Dutch oven. Put the tomatoes in a bowl and season liberally with
salt and pepper. Stir in the remaining olive oil. Spread a thin layer of
tomatoes in the baking dish or Dutch oven and top with one-third of
the onions and garlic. Top with half the potato slices. Season with
salt and pepper. Layer half the zucchini slices over the potatoes and
season, then layer on half the eggplant, half the peppers and half the
okra, if using. Sprinkle on half the parsley, about a third of the
marjoram or oregano and some pepper. Layer another third of the onions
over the vegetables and top with half of the remaining tomatoes.
Sprinkle with half the remaining marjoram or oregano. Repeat the layers
with the remaining vegetables, ending with a layer of onions topped with
the remaining tomatoes. Sprinkle with the remaining herbs. Pour the
juice from the tomatoes over the mixture.

Cover with foil or a lid and bake for 1 1/2 hours. Press the vegetables down into the juice and bake another
30 minutes, or until all the vegetables are thoroughly tender. Cool
until warm before serving, or refrigerate overnight and reheat. If there
is too much liquid, strain in a colander set over a bowl, reduce the
juices over medium-high heat (place a flame tamer over the burner if
you’re using the earthenware dish) and pour over the vegetables.

Yield: 8 to 10 servings.