AUGUST 2, 2022
Hi, Everyone,
By now you are all Professional Veggie Lovers. I suspect you are also Profesional Leftover Veggie Accumulators. So, this week we have a recipe to use up all the aging produce in the fridge. It’s a traditional provencal dish called a tian. This dish is easy to make and quite delicious. Crusty bread is great for dunking into the juices.
VEGETABLE TIAN
Ingredients
5 to 9 TBS extra-virgin olive oil
3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
10 sprigs fresh herbs, such as parsley, thyme, rosemary, tarragon, and/or basil
1/2 tsp fine sea salt and freshly ground pepper
1 1/2 lbs tomatoes
1/2 lb zucchini, green or yellow, or other summer squash
1/4 lb eggplant
1/4 lb red onion(s)
Crusty bread
Directions
1. Center a rack in the oven and preheat it to 400° F. Pour 2 TBS of the oil into the baking dish, tilting it so the oil coats the bottom and the sides. Scatter over half the garlic and a little more than half of the herbs and season generously with salt and pepper.
2. Slice the vegetables: they should be cut about 1⁄4 inch thick. They should all be about the same size, so you might want to cut them in half the long way before slicing them. This is good for the looks of the dish, but it isn’t necessary, so don’t stress over it.
3. Arrange the vegetables in the dish in tightly overlapping circles. Try to squeeze the eggplant between slices of tomato and put the squash and onions next to one another. Keep the circles tight; the vegetables will soften and shrink in the oven. Season generously with salt and pepper, and then put the remaining slivers of garlic in among the vegetables. Top with the remaining fresh herbs and drizzle over as much of the remaining oil as you desire.
4. Place the tian on a baking sheet lined with foil, parchment, or a silicone baking mat. Bake the tian for 70 to 90 minutes, until the vegetables are meltingly tender and the juices are bubbling.
Serve the tian a few minutes out of the oven or allow it to cool to room temperature. Either way, you’ll want bread…a lot of it.
Leftovers can be kept covered in the fridge for a day or two. You can either pull it out a few hours before serving or, if you’d like, warm it in a microwave or a 350-degree oven.
NOTE: The olive oil adds flavor. You should use the best quality oil you can. The more you add to the dish, the more flavorful “sauce” you’ll get for dunking.
ANOTHER NOTE: You don’t need to use the above specific vegetables. You can use any vegetables you like.
This is a very satisfying dish for a summer evening. Don’t forget the bread!
And have a delicious week!
Best,
Judi