Daz Switalla Flavour Secrets No.1 The Strand Chef www.no1thestrand.co.nz

As the mercury rises, I am sure people slow down. I witnessed this last Sunday at the Mount market. The heat was drawing most people to any shade and there was no sense of urgency.

This reminded me of places in this world where the pace of life slows right down or even stops. In the very hot countries like Greece, the whole day is broken into two parts as most locals catch a nap in the hottest part of the day. During this time, the Greek mamas start their slow cooking as they have done for centuries.

Right now, world-wide there is a move towards slow food. In 1986, the slow food movement was founded originally in Italy by Carlo Petrini to resist the opening of a McDonalds. Originally promoted as an alternative to fast food, now with more than a 100,000 members in 150 countries, it promotes local flavours through regional events, the setting up of seed banks, and strives to preserve traditional and sustainable foods.

It also has a political agenda directed against the globalisation of agricultural products. This is the cornerstone of the thriving food markets where the slow food philosophy is embraced. Some aspects of the Food Bill now before parliament may force smaller artisan food producers like myself to become even more regulated and give up, let's hope not all the proposals are adopted in their present form.

Last week, I shared a recipe about slowly cooked stuffed tomatoes and capsicums. This week we are slow cooking again with zucchini and potatoes.

Potato and Zucchini Briam

Serves four to six

1kg zucchini

1kg fresh market potatoes

2x 400g tins chopped tomatoes

3 cloves chopped garlic

1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley

1 tbsp dried Sicilian or fresh oregano

1/2 cup olive oil

Salt and pepper

Method

Plan ahead as this tasty combination takes at least three hours to cook and marinate, baked in a moderate oven with a temperature of 140 degrees. Wash potatoes and cut them into round slices. Clean and wash the courgettes and cut them lengthwise into slices. Spread one layer of potatoes in a medium sized casserole dish, sprinkle with salt and pepper, chopped parsley, a little of the oil, then a layer of the courgettes, a sprinkle of the garlic and some of the chopped tomato and season with more salt and pepper.
Repeat the process until all the courgettes and potatoes are used. Press down firmly, add the rest of tomatoes and oil and one cup of water, cover with foil and bake in oven on 140 degrees for about three hours. Remove foil and brown to set top of briam. Serve as is straight from the dish, or allow cooling completely then cut up like a lasagne. It also tastes great cold served the next day as part of a summer antipasto.