Help! I think I overcooked my briami (frc)

C

colleenmomof2

Well-known member
I realized last night as I was assembling ingredients for dinner that I had everything (except fresh tomatoes) I needed to make my first batch of briami so I put together a 1/5 batch and now think that I probably should have cooked it less time. At the 2 hour stir, it was still moist but at 2 hours 20 minutes, it was stuck to the sides and very brown on the edges. I see from the other posts that the veggie pieces are "browned" but mine are soft. Most everything is still roughly whole, not "cooked down." I thought it would end up in smaller pieces and wet, more like bruschetta or salsa.

I am specifically worried that it is too dry. How moist should it be? What would you compare the appearance/texture/moistness to? I can add a bit of tomato juice or olive oil.

I used a flat dish - should it have been a deep dish?

And I think the cheese was a problem. Has anyone else made changes in adding the cheese? I think I'd like to leave it out until the end but I used grated parm and maybe it wouldn't be an issue if I'd used the cheeses Evelyn recommended.

Thank-you for sharing your experiences. I am so looking forward to this for dinner! Colleen

http://www.finerkitchens.com/swap/forum/index.php?action=display&forumid=1&msgid=8096

 
Colleen, I've made it with the mizithra and wasn't that impressed. I cut it in chunks about

1/2 inch or so and they were hard and dry. I had to go to Whole Foods to find the cheese and when I bought it, I was told it was the driest and hardest cheese they carried. Personally, I think it would be good sans the cheese while baking and then sprinkled with feta at the end.

My vegetables didn't cook into any kind of mass, like ratatouille does, they stayed pretty separate, but were really delicious. So did you not put any tomatoes in at all? The tomatoes add moisture and kind of pull it together, I think. I did mine spread out in a large Corning ware dish that is 2.5 inches deep and about 14x11.

Check out her recipe on Zaar (link), it is slightly different with different proportions than the one posted here and is the one I used. I remember reading on a message board (Gail's?) she said she edited it because the potatoes and zucchini are larger here than in Greece. Next time, I'm tryig parm in chunks, I didn't care so much for the Mizithra.

Thanks for reminding me, I've got all the ingredients, perhaps I'll plan dinner tonight around it!

http://www.recipezaar.com/59083

 
I didn't use any cheese in the baking. Put parm in when I took it out of the oven. As far as the >

Myzithra, which I bought in the special cheese section of Winco, I use it on Melitzana Papoutzakia, but I grate it on the large side of a box grater. It didn't really melt, just sort of sat there. I didn't find the flavor especially noteworthy.

 
I ended up using canned, diced tomatoes

and subbed the tomato juice for the water in the recipe.

Thanks for suggesting the Zaar link - I made a copy of the recipe and I'll try that one next time.

It's almost dinner time - I'm really looking forward to my first taste of briami with feta! Colleen

 
The briami was wonderful!

The feta was a perfect addition. I still thought the mixture was on the dry side but the family thought I was crazy. The veggies were tasty atop crisp toast. Colleen

 
That's great, I think it's a very forgiving recipe, just needs plenty of the moister veggies

in proportion to the potatoes. The potatoes will soak up the liquid, especially if they are russet as opposed to the waxy (like red) type. As I said, mine was dry also, but not in a bad way. I think I was expecting more of a ratatouille mixture and it just isn't that 'soupy'. Eggplant is a good addition to it, if you like eggplant.

 
I made this again last night and realized I hadn't made it since I got my new oven. I think the

temp of 420 is too high for the Corning dish. It got quite dark and crispy around the edges. Next time I will use a lower temp. It was delicious, I didn't have any mint to add this time, used fresh oregano. I also used parm this time in about 1/2 inch pieces and it did melt, probably what was carmelized around the edges! Definitely no juices by the time it was done, but it wasn't dry.

 
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