Vegetable Tian

5 from 3 votes

Recipe video above. I love this colourful Provençal vegetable bake! It’s full of vibrant colours and lovely garlicky Mediterranean flavours, making it just as good as a side dish as it is a vegetarian main. While it feels especially at home alongside French and Mediterranean food, the flavours are so adaptable that it will happily sit beside almost any Western-style meal.

Enjoy warm or at room temperature.

Prep Time30

Cook Time40

Total Time1 10

Course: Side Dish, Vegetables, Vegetarian, vegetarian main

Cuisine: French

Keyword: french vegetable side dish, vegetable bake, vegetable tian, vegetarian dish

Servings: to 8

Calories: 208cal

Author: Chef JB (RecipeTin)

Ingredients

6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
4 garlic cloves , finely minced with a knife
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 eggplant (aubergine), cut in half lengthways then sliced 8mm / 0.3” half moons (~380g / 13.5oz)
3 zucchini (courgette), sliced into 6mm / 0.25” rounds (~180g / 6oz each)
3 red onion , sliced into 3mm / 0.1” rounds (~140g / 5oz each) (use a mandolin if you have one)
5 tomato , sliced into 5mm / 0.2” rounds (~140g / 5oz each)
2 tsp cooking / kosher salt , (or half for table salt, +50% for flakes)
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 1/2 tsp herbes de Provence , buy or make your own (only 4 simple herbs) (Note 1)

Cups - Metric

Instructions

ABBREVIATED RECIPE

Sweat the eggplant and zucchini, spread oil, tomato paste and garlic in a dish. Arrange vegetables, alternating, drizzle/sprinkle with oil, Herbs de Provence, salt and pepper. Bake 40 minutes.

FULL RECIPE

Preheat oven - Preheat oven to 200°C / 400°F (180°C fan-forced).
Sweat eggplant and zucchini - Toss eggplant and zucchini slices in a bowl with 1 teaspoon of salt. Place them in colander over bowl to sweat and leave to drain for about 10 minutes while you slice the remaining vegetables and prepare the baking dish. (Note 2)
Prepare baking dish - Spread 1 tbsp olive oil, tomato paste and half the garlic over the base of a ceramic baking dish (30cm x 20cm x 5cm / 12" x 8" x 2"). As the vegetables bake, they will release their juices which will mix into it to create a beautiful sauce underneath.
Season again - Give the colander a shake to remove excess water off the eggplant and zucchini (no need to pat them dry), then put them back into a bowl. A lot of salt comes off with the water, so toss with another 1/2 teaspoon of salt.
Layer vegetables - Arrange the vegetables vertically in the dish, alternating eggplant, zucchini, onion and tomato (I do it in this order). I usually make around 14 rows (the video is very useful here). Don't be afraid to pack the vegetables in quite tightly. They will shrink as they bake, so arranging them snugly together helps them stay upright. (Note 3)
Season top - Drizzle all-over with remaining olive oil. Sprinkle evenly with remaining garlic, remaining 1/2 teaspoon of salt, black pepper and Herbes de Provence.
Bake - Bake for 40 minutes until the vegetables are soft and lightly browned on the edges. Serve immediately, or leave to cool and serve at room temperature.

Notes

1. Herbs de Provence - Probably the most used herb blend in France. You can make it yourself (see below for exact quantities for this recipe, or see here to make a jar to keep) though you can sometimes find it at specialty stores here in Australia.

3/4 tsp thyme, 1/2 tsp rosemary, 1/4 tsp marjoram, 1/8 tsp oregano (all dried herbs)

2. Salting the eggplant and zucchini first helps draw out excess water so the tian does not become watery as it bakes. And for the eggplant, it also helps it cook faster.

3. Assembling - As you get toward the end, you’ll need to gently push the vegetables against the side of the dish to make room for the last few rows. If you have extra vegetable slices after assembling the tian, just gently slide them wherever you can between the layers.

Leftovers and storage - Will keep for 3 days in the fridge. Reheat gently in the oven or microwave until warmed through. You can also enjoy it at room temperature, which is actually very common in France during summer. I honestly love it the next day! Not suitable for freezing.

Nutrition per serving (6 serves).

Nutrition