#3.6 Vegetable Tian

What the heck is a tian you ask? Well let me tell you as I had no idea . The dictionary says a tian is a dish of finely chopped vegetables cooked in olive oil and then baked au gratin. It's also a large oval earthenware cooking pot traditionally used in Provence. It's pronounce tee-yan. Hmm learn something new every day. 

Now I'm not usually in the habit of looking up odd named dishes. I just happened to see a delicious looking picture as I was perusing some of my favorite blogs. 

yellow squash and zucchini! oh yes please             

This picture looked so yummy that I couldn't pass up trying to replicate it. I was a bit skeptical at how well it was going to taste since the ingredients seemed so simple... really no butter or major spices?? 

This was a delicious side dish or is really filling enough to be a main course. The smells were amazing! I even got some nay-sayers tempted to try a nibble and had positive results. With out a doubt this will reappear at Thanksgiving and I'm thinking it'll make a great potluck dish. 

cheese time

The things I would make note is that the timing was a bit off. It took about 15 minutes more to get the veggies really cooked through before doing the additional time with cheese. I'm not sure if I  packed it in too much or if slices were too thick since I don't have a mandolin. I also used shredded mexican cheese blend since it was on hand... I don't think what you use really matters. 

Even though it says summer vegetables these ingredients are readily found at all times of the year. For me it is a perfect fall dish! It really smells up the whole house and gives you that warm cozy feeling when you eat it without the guilt of other comfort foods. 

Summer Vegetable Tian

Time 1 1/2 hour  * *  prep about 1/2 hour   * * cook time 1 hour

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp olive oil 
• 1 medium yellow onion 
• 1 tsp minced garlic 
• 1 medium zucchini 
• 1 medium yellow squash 
• 1 medium potato 
• 1 medium tomato 
• 1 tsp dried thyme 
• to taste salt & pepper 
• 1 cup shredded cheese 

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Finely dice the onion and mince the garlic. Saute both in a skillet with olive oil until softened (about five minutes).
2. While the onion and garlic are sauteing, thinly slice the rest of the vegetables.
3. Spray the inside of an 8×8 square or round baking dish with non-stick spray. Spread the softened onion and garlic in the bottom of the dish. Place the thinly sliced vegetables in the baking dish vertically, in an alternating pattern. Sprinkle generously with salt, pepper, and thyme.
4. Cover the dish with foil and bake for 30-  45 min (until veggies are tender). Remove the foil, top with cheese and bake for another 15-20 minutes or until the cheese is golden brown.
5. Enjoy!

recipe adapted from BudgetBytes

The chopping and stacking is the most time consuming part, then you just forget it in the oven 

Stack them up over the onions...you get the idea

I just shoved all the extra in the pan maybe that's why it took longer

Ta-da! All ready to eat. 

The first serving wasn't as pretty but from there on it it was gorgeous

Right out of the oven!