Try this Vegetable Tian recipe, or contribute your own.
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 2 large yellow onions cut in half andâ thinly sliced
- 4 mediumâ potatoes, unpeeled {i used the golden variety}
- 6 large roma tomatoes
- 2-3 zucchini
- 2 asian eggplant {ina used 3/4 pound zucchini: i decided t
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves plus 2-4 extra thyme sprigs
- 1/3 cup grated emental cheese {ina used 2 ounces gruyere}
- Carbohydrate 78.0445050011905 g
- Cholesterol 0 mg
- Fat 7.1485500000818 g
- Fiber 19.1962506472729 g
- Protein 14.3028150002707 g
- Saturated Fat 1.09063800002274 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Recipe (1421g)
- Sodium 1279.67760000044 mg
- Sugar 58.8482543539176 g
- Trans Fat 0.882270000029215 g
- Calories 388 calories
Step-by-step
- Preheat the oven to 375F.
- Brush your baking dish with olive oil. {The recipe calls for 9 x 13 x 2-inch baking dish.}
- Heat two tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet; I used my new Le Creuset. Add the onions and cook them for 8-10 minutes until they are translucent. Add the garlic and cook for another minute. Spread the onion/garlic mixture evenly over the bottom of your baking dish.
- Slice your vegetables into 1/4-inch thick slices. Layer them on top of the onions in one layer, fitting them tightly into the space.
- Sprinkle the vegetables with thyme leaves, salt & pepper and top with thyme sprigs. Drizzle everything with a tablespoon of olive oil, cover with aluminum foil and bake for 35-40 minutes.
- Remove the baking dish from the oven, take out the thyme sprigs and top the vegetables with the cheese. Return the baking dish to the oven and bake uncovered for 40-50 minutes until the cheese has browned and the potatoes are cooked through. {Note: Ina had you bake the dish only 30 minutes uncovered, but I found it needed quite a bit more time.}
- Serve warm
A proper Provencal tian relies entirely on disciplined moisture management and uniform geometry. Originating from the French region of Provence, this traditional earthenware-baked dish transforms summer produce through slow dehydration and concentration. Slicing vegetables to a uniform quarter-inch thickness ensures that dense tubers and watery squashes soften at the exact same rate in the heat of the oven.
Layering and Baking Mechanics
Start by sweating the onions until fully translucent in a skillet before transferring them to the base of a nine-by-thirteen-inch baking dish; this pre-cooking step prevents waterlogging from the bottom up. Alternate tightly packed overlapping rounds of potatoes, tomatoes, zucchini, and eggplant. Cover the dish with foil for the initial thirty-five minutes to steam the dense root vegetables thoroughly. Remove the barrier and add cheese during the final forty minutes to achieve proper browning without burning the dairy fats.
- Slice root vegetables and squash to precisely 1/4-inch thickness using a mandoline for uniform cooking rates.
- Bake covered at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for the first 35 to 40 minutes to soften the unpeeled potatoes.
- Drain excess pooled tomato juices midway if the vegetables release excessive liquid before the starches soften.
