Tian of Provencal Vegetables
Description
And this was Monday’s dinner – you have to try it! This was lovely served over quinoa for a vegetarian dinner (which wasn’t the original plan), but Brock and I decided that the next time we might do a Lemon Roast Chicken, and then use the vegetables as a spread over some thick sliced crusty bread. The recipe was borrowed from Laura Calder’s book, ‘French Taste’, and the only other important thing to note is to use salt sparingly – I thought I did, and though I’m a salt fiend, we thought it was a little salty…everything power concentrates way more than you’d think after cooking at such a high heat for so long.
Ingredients
Tian of Provencal Vegetables
olive oil
2 large onions, thinly sliced
1 good-sized eggplant, cut into (1/4 inch or 1/2 cm) slices (I actually couldn’t find any, so I used extra zucchini)
2 medium zucchini, cut into (1/4 inch or 1/2 cm) slices
2 red peppers, cored and cut into thick julienne strips
4 to 6 tomatoes, cut thicker than the vegetables, into 1/2 inch or 1 cm slices
salt and freshly ground pepper
Instructions
Preheat your oven to 450 and lightly oil a heavy 9 x 13 casserole. Saute the onion in a bit of olive oil until they are softened and then use them to line the bottom of the casserole as the first layer.
Layer in the vegetables, seasoning carefully with salt and pepper as you go (I did zucchini, peppers, zucchini), and then finish with the top layer of thickly sliced tomatoes. Sprinkle the tomatoes with a bit of salt and pepper and then lightly drizzle the whole thing with olive oil.
Bake for a good 2 hours (I did mine almost 3 hours, but my vegetables were thicker than I’ve listed here), and check it after the first hour because that was when I chose to lay a loose piece of foil over top – otherwise the tomatoes may end up looking burnt, instead of beautifully chewy and crisp. Basically you want to bake it until the liquid has evaporated and the vegetables have sunk down, and I did notice a difference in the liquid level.
Serve over quinoa, couscous or rice or use as a side dish which is how I believe it was intended – but try it! if you love caramelized onions, this is really just a dish of caramelized vegetables.
- Category: Tomatoes, Zucchini, Vegetarian
I love this recipe; it has been my go to for using up garden vegetables in the summer for a while. I suggest tossing it with fresh pasta and shaving sharp provolone or parmesan over it with a very generous hand; delicious!
That is a really, really hot oven for a long time! Is that really necessary? Why does it take so long in such a hot oven? I want to try this but I don’t want to screw it up!
It does seem crazy long, but that’s honestly the recipe – just be careful with the salt, and you’ll end up with a lovely casserole of caramelized vegetables – that you’ll wish you’d tried sooner!