Vegetable Tian

Meet Vegetable Tian – a colourful Provençal vegetable bake that I absolutely love! It’s full of beautiful colours, Mediterranean vibes, and looks as good as it tastes. Serve it as a side dish or enjoy it as a vegetarian main. Let’s go!

Vegetable Tian

I’ve been a ratatouille guy for as long as I can remember, but when I want something a little more special, I make a Vegetable Tian. It uses many of the same ingredients, just presented in a much more impressive way! It’s a classic Provençal dish from the south of France where thinly sliced summer vegetables are packed tightly into a dish, layered or sitting upright, then simply flavoured with fruity olive oil, garlic and the classic French herb mix, herbes de Provence before being baked.

When it comes out of the oven, the tops of the vegetables are lightly caramelised while underneath they become soft and delectable, all infused with lovely garlicky flavours. I also like to spread a little tomato paste and garlic in the bottom of the dish. As it bakes, it turns into a delicious little sauce that can be spooned over the Tian when serving.

And if you were wondering, “tian” is actually the name of the shallow pottery dish traditionally used for this recipe in France. It’s pronounced “tee-ahn”. 🙂

Ingredients in Vegetable Tian

You might have seen Vegetable Tians arranged in beautiful spirals with perfectly matching rounds of vegetables. They do look stunning, but the reality is it’s impossible to find eggplants, zucchinis and tomatoes that are all the same size. For me, a neat row arrangement in a rectangular dish makes much more sense.

It still looks beautiful on the table, but it’s far easier to assemble and much more forgiving when your vegetables are not perfectly matched.

• Eggplant (aubergine) – Just a regular eggplant. Try to choose a small to medium one. I cut it in half lengthwise, then slice it into half-moons so it sits at a similar height to the zucchini and other vegetables once arranged in the dish.

• Zucchini (courgette) – Look for fairly chunky zucchinis so they’re closer in width to the onion and tomato slices. It makes the final Tian look a little more uniform.

• Red onion – I prefer red onion here because of its sweeter flavour. For me, it works better than regular brown or yellow onions in this dish.

• Tomato – I use truss tomatoes here in Australia and like them nice and ripe. But any regular tomato will work perfectly fine. Just avoid cherry tomatoes as they are too small for this recipe.

• Extra virgin olive oil – If you have a good fruity extra virgin olive oil, this is a lovely recipe to use it in. There are only a few ingredients here, so you can really taste it.

• Garlic – The garlic needs to be finely chopped with a knife so it can be sprinkled evenly over the vegetables. A garlic press makes it too wet and pasty, which doesn’t work as well.

• Tomato paste – Spread over the base of the dish before adding the vegetables, it combines with the olive oil, garlic and vegetable juices as everything bakes, creating a beautiful sauce underneath. Get that crusty bread ready! Some recipes use passata / tomato purée, but I prefer tomato paste because it gets naturally diluted by the water released from the vegetables.

• Herbes de Provence – This is a simple mix of herbs (thyme, oregano, rosemary and savory or marjoram) that is typically Provençal-style and widely used in France. It’s a bit tricky to find outside of France, but so easy to make your own at home, I’ve included it in the recipe card or see here for a larger batch to keep. If you’re in France, you can buy it everywhere!

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How to make Vegetable Tian

Some recipes skip the step of salting the zucchini and eggplant to draw out excess moisture. For me, it’s worth to do it for two reasons. Firstly, it helps prevent the Tian from being saturated in water. Without this step, the vegetables end up steaming rather than roasting. Secondly, it helps them cook a little faster so all the vegetables are done at the same time (tomato and onion cook faster).

1. Salt eggplant and zucchini – In a bowl, toss the eggplant and zucchini with salt, then put them into a colander set over a bowl, then leave for 30 minutes. The vegetables will sweat and you will see droplets of water on the surface which will drip through the colander. There is no need to pat each slice dry.

2. Prepare sauce – Mix and spread olive oil, tomato paste and half of the garlic over the base of a rectangular ceramic baking dish. The one I’m using is 30 x 20 x 5 cm / 12 x 8 x 2″.

3. Layer vegetables in dish – Arrange the vegetable slices in the dish in rows (watching the video is helpful here), alternating in this order: eggplant, zucchini, onion and tomato. You will get around 14 rows. Pack the vegetables in quite tightly so they stay upright – they shrink as they bake. As you get to the end, push the rows together so you can fit all the veggies in. Tuck in any vegetable slices left over at the end where you can.

   Seasoning the vegetables – I like to toss the zucchini and eggplant with a little extra salt before layering, as most of the salt comes off as they sweat. I don’t toss the tomato or onion slices with salt as they are too delicate. But don’t worry, they still get seasoning from being packed tightly alongside the zucchini and eggplant, and salt we sprinkle over the whole dish in the next step.

4. Drizzle and season – Drizzle the remaining olive oil over the top, then sprinkle evenly with the remaining garlic, salt, black pepper and Herbes de Provence.

5. Bake and serve – Bake for 40 minutes in a 200°C / 400°F (180°C fan-forced) oven until the vegetables are soft and slightly browned around the edges. The vegetables should be cooked but not mushy, still holding their form enough to scoop out without falling apart.

What to serve with Vegetable Tian

This Vegetable Tian will serve 6 as a main or 8 as a side. It makes a great vegetarian / vegan main course served simply with some crusty or fresh bread on the side to mop up all the sauce.

It is also the perfect side to roasted or grilled meats or fish, such as Poulet Rôti (French Roast Chicken), pork chops, crispy pan fried fish or whole baked snapper. I especially enjoy it alongside other French and Mediterranean dishes, where it fits right in, but honestly, I’d happily serve it with almost any Western-style meal.

While it’s wonderful served warm straight from the oven, I also love it at room temperature. Try it served alongside cold meats and cheeses. For an extra Mediterranean touch, you could even scatter over some crumbled feta or chopped Kalamata olives during the last few minutes of baking.

Bon appétit! – JB

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Watch how to make it

Remembering Dozer

These two photos were taken at the very first RecipeTin Eats HQ I worked at. Looking at them now, they make me smile because they capture Dozer doing one of his favourite things at the time with me – oven watching.

Here, we were working on developing Pastéis de Nata (Portuguese tarts). We came very close to cracking it, but in the end we never quite got there. Dozer, of course, was extremely interested in the whole process and he always wanted a front-row seat to see what was going on, and I’m not fooled, probably his fair share of the tarts as our number one taste tester.

We miss you every day buddy. ❤️