Summer Vegetable Tian

August is a dream month for anyone who enjoys freshly picked local produce. In Toronto, where winter begins early and ends late, the selection of locally grown produce is limited during the colder months. However, with the arrival of summer, open-air markets and corner supermarkets abound with produce grown by nearby farmers, including both green and yellow zucchini, juicy, ripe tomatoes and slender, purple eggplant. This recipe for a tian, by Dorie Greenspan published in Everyday Dorie: The Way I Cook, is the perfect showcase for these plentiful vegetables now at the peak of their flavor.

Summer Vegetable Tian

Originating in the south of France, a tian is a layered casserole of beautifully arranged spiraled vegetables seasoned with fresh garlic and herbs and splashed generously with good olive oil. Baked in the oven until the vegetables are meltingly soft underneath and lightly crisp on top, a tian can be eaten warm or at room temperature. Served with lots of fresh crusty bread for mopping up the sauce beneath the silky vegetables, this classic dish of Provence can be enjoyed as a side dish or as a light main course. Bon appétit!

Assemble your ingredients. Centre a rack in the oven and preheat it to 400 F. I used a 9″ pie plate to make this tian. But any oven proof casserole of a similar size will work equally well.

Making a tian is easy but it’s worthwhile keeping the following points in mind:

• When picking out your vegetables to make this recipe, try to choose tomatoes, zucchini and eggplant that have the same circumference. It will be easier to assemble the layers and create even rows.
• Pack the slices as tightly as possible, as they will shrink while baking. 
• Be generous with the olive oil. The olive oil tenderizes and creates nice crisp edges on the vegetables.

Pour 2 tablespoons of oil into your baking dish, tilting it so that the oil coats the sides of the pan. Scatter just over half of the sliced garlic and more than half of the herbs on the bottom of the dish.  Season generously with salt and pepper. Slice the vegetables into rounds about 1/4-inch thick.

Arrange the vegetables in tightly overlapping concentric circles in the baking dish. Try to squeeze the tomatoes next to the eggplant. Eggplant and tomatoes are a perfect match. Tomatoes give off a lot of liquid and eggplant soaks it up. Season generously with salt and pepper and tuck the remaining slivers of garlic in between the vegetables. Top with the remaining herbs and drizzle over the remaining olive oil.

Place the tian on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake the tian for 60 minutes until the vegetables are very tender. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Print Recipe

Summer vegetable tian

Vegetables and Sides

By Dorie Greenspan, Everyday Dorie – Serves: 6

Prep Time: 20 minutes – Cooking Time: 60 minutes – Total Time: 80 minutes

Layered casserole of beautifully arranged spiraled vegetables seasoned with fresh garlic and herbs and splashed generously with good olive oil.

Ingredients

• 5 to 9 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 6 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 6 sprigs fresh herbs, such as parsley, thyme, rosemary, tarragon and/or basil
• 5 cocktail or Roma tomatoes
• 2 zucchini, green or yellow, scrubbed and trimmed
• 1 Japanese eggplant, washed and trimmed
• 5 baby peppers
• 1 red onion
• sea salt and freshly ground pepper
• Fresh crusty bread, for serving

Instructions

1

Centre a rack in the oven and preheat it to 400 F. I used a 9" pie plate to make this tian. But any oven proof casserole of a similar size will work equally well.

2

Pour 2 tablespoons of oil into your baking dish, tilting it so that the oil coats the sides of the pan. Scatter just over half of the sliced garlic and more than half of the herbs on the bottom of the dish.  Season generously with salt and pepper.

3

Slice the vegetables into rounds about 1/4-inch thick. Arrange the vegetables in tightly overlapping circles in the baking dish. Season generously with salt and pepper and tuck the remaining slivers of garlic in between the vegetables. Top with the rest of the fresh herbs and drizzle with as much of the remaining olive oil (3-7 tablespoons) as you would like.

4

Place the tian on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake the tian for 60 minutes until the vegetables are very tender. Serve warm or at room temperature with lots of fresh crusty bread.

Notes

Use a little more oil than you think that you should for a really moist tian with lots of dipping sauce. You can add leftover tian to pasta or use it as a pizza topping.