Easy Vegetable Side Dish Provencal Tian
Confusingly, the word tian has two meanings: it is both an earthenware dish and whatever you are preparing inside of your tian. Every French person I know has their family favourites. This tian was ours. It is super colourful and will be the star of any meal.
Confession Time. I planted way too many tomatoes this year and looked for the best, most tasty way to use them. I ended up making a Provençale Vegetable Tian – which is a super healthy vegetable casserole. You may remember the hit 2007 movie ‘Ratatouille” about a rat who yearns to be a renowned chef.
Here is my video (and the garden).
This recipe is suitable for vegetarians, and if you eliminate the parmesan cheese, it is vegan-friendly too.
Provencale Vegetable Tian
Ingredients
- 2 Japanese eggplant cut into 1/4-inch-thick rounds
- 10 plum tomato(es) cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil split among a few steps
- sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 sweet onions thinly sliced
- 2 Bell Peppers seeded and thinly sliced
- 3 garlic cloves smashed (optional)
- 10 Fresh Basil Leaves roughly chopped
- 4 thin zucchini (courgette) cut into 1/4-inch-thick rounds
- 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese grated
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
- Lay the eggplant slices onto a baking sheet lined with a silicone baking mat. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Bake 10 minutes, just until it softens.
- Lay the tomato slices onto a baking sheet lined with a silicone baking mat. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Bake 20 minutes, just until the tomatoes start to shrink a little.
- Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add the onions, bell peppers, and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 10 minutes. Stir in the basil and cook for 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Spread one-quarter of the mixture in a 9-by-13-inch baking pan.
- Bring a large saucepan of salted water to a boil. Blanch the zucchini for 30 seconds; use a slotted spoon to remove them from the water.
- Arrange the slices of zucchini, eggplant, and tomatoes in alternating layers over the onions and peppers, with the slices overlapping. Continue making layers until all the vegetables are used. Sprinkle the dish with Parmesan and bake until the vegetables are tender, about 30 minutes.
Notes
More Vegetable Sides:
Earthenware = Healthy Cooking
Today, few potters of the – city of clay – continue making the ancient earthenware pottery of Vallauris. However, at Remember Provence, we have selected one artisan who continues the handcrafted tradition of this Provencal pottery. These beautiful kitchen containers are handmade Vallauris ceramics, such as the emblematic daubiere pot, the Provencal tian dish, the large skillet.
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