Last year was the first Christmas where I chose a theme for the food. We had a Greek inspired Christmas lunch – you can see the full menu here, with links to the recipes I have already posted.
We had 14 adults and 10 kids for lunch so this dish was great for making a big batch of tasty roast veggies to accompany the meats.
Briami – Roasted Greek Vegetables
Ingredients
- 6 large tomatoes
- 3 medium salad onions
- 3 medium zucchini
- 2 sticks celery
- 3 cloves garlic
- 3 tablespoons fresh parsley
- 2 tablespoons fresh dill
- 100ml olive oil
Traditional Briami would also have about 3 potatoes in the mix, but as we were doing standard roast potatoes as well, I didn’t add potatoes to my Briami. I also doubled the recipe to make two dishes for our large crowd.
Method:
1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees if you are going to be cooking the veggies on the day. I preferred to have all the veggies chopped up and then start the layering. So if you like to cook this way too, you need to:
- slice the tomatoes
- chop the onions into thin wedges
- cut celery into pieces approx 2 – 3 cms in length
- halve the zucchinis and cut them into pieces approx 2 – 3 cms in length
- finely chop the parsley and dill
- peel the garlic
2. Lightly brush a baking dish with olive oil. I actually used lasagne dishes as I knew I would need my roasting dishes for the meat.
3. Place a layer of tomatoes on the bottom of the dish. Then top with celery, zucchini and onion.
4. Add the remaining tomatoes to the top of the dish.
5. I made the dish to this point and then covered with tin foil and placed it in the fridge over night on Christmas eve. This meant I had much less work to do Christmas morning. Just before cooking, crush garlic over the top of the dish and then top with chopped herbs. Season with salt and pepper, then drizzle the remaining oil evenly over the vegetables.
6. Place in the oven and cook for about 50 minutes. Give the veggies a good stir so the herbs and oil are well and truly mixed.
7. Cook for at about another 50 minutes until veggies are delicious and soft.
8. I placed the veggies in large bowls on the table and allowed family to serve themselves. They tasted delish!
- 6 large tomatoes
- 3 medium salad onions
- 3 medium zucchini
- 2 sticks celery
- 3 cloves garlic
- 3 tablespoons fresh parsley
- 2 tablespoons fresh dill
- 100ml olive oil
- Traditional Briami would also have about 3 potatoes in the mix, but as we were doing standard roast potatoes as well, I didn't add potatoes to my Briami. I also doubled the recipe to make two dishes for our large crowd.
- Preheat oven to 180 degrees if you are going to be cooking the veggies on the day. I preferred to have all the veggies chopped up and then start the layering.
- Slice the tomatoes
- Chop the onions into thin wedges
- Cut celery into pieces approx 2 - 3 cms in length
- Halve the zucchinis and cut them into pieces approx 2 - 3 cms in length
- Finely chop the parsley and dill
- Peel the garlic
- Lightly brush a baking dish with olive oil. I actually used lasagne dishes as I knew I would need my roasting dishes for the meat.
- Place a layer of tomatoes on the bottom of the dish. Then top with celery, zucchini and onion.
- Add the remaining tomatoes to the top of the dish.
- I made the dish to this point and then covered with tin foil and placed it in the fridge over night on Christmas eve. This meant I had much less work to do Christmas morning. Just before cooking, crush garlic over the top of the dish and then top with chopped herbs. Season with salt and pepper, then drizzle the remaining oil evenly over the vegetables.
- Place in the oven and cook for about 50 minutes. Give the veggies a good stir so the herbs and oil are well and truly mixed.
- Cook for at about another 50 minutes until veggies are delicious and soft.
- I placed the veggies in large bowls on the table and allowed family to serve themselves. They tasted delish!
Our Family Menu Plan For This Week.
Time for the new bunch of weekly plans. This time as I will be away early August for a short holiday, I have actually planned for six weeks. This gives me some breathing room to adjust back to life at home. One of my fave things about menu planning is how it takes care of so many things at once – what to cook, the shopping lists and the budget!
You can download the six weekly plans with shopping lists here – Planning With Kids Weekly Menu Plans 14th July – 18th August 2012
If you are looking for further recipe inspiration, check out my complete list of Family Friendly Recipes. You might like to also check out Planning With Kids Menu Planning App.
The kid friendly menu planning app allows you to:
- Create weekly menu plans quickly, choosing as many meals per day as you would like to plan for.
- Generate the shopping list for all the meals selected.
- Modify the shopping list to check off items you already have at home.
- Email the shopping list to yourself and/or others.
The most popular recipes from the blog have been included and more will be added on a weekly basis. The app will notify you when new recipes have been added, so you will be able to deliver plenty of variety in your family’s menu plans. Each recipe lists the ingredients required, easy to follow instructions and a photo from the blog.
How is your menu planning going?