Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Vegetable Tian

This was one of those recipes I saw & had to make as soon as possible. It looked so beautiful but I knew it would be delicious too. There are a few definitions for a Tian but it's basically a French gratin of mixed vegetables. I had actually never heard of it until I saw it on Pam's For the Love of Cooking blog. You should see the delicious stuff she cooks up. 

A Tian is sometimes a layered dish as well but what captured my eye & tummy on this one was the way the veggies were upright & spiraled. Just gorgeous. You can use whatever veggies you like. I didn't have squash on hand so I just used the tomatoes, potatoes & zucchini. 

Picture courtesy of Pam. I delved in too quickly to take one.

2 tbsp olive oil (divided)
1 large sweet yellow onion cut in half and sliced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1-2 russet potatoes, unpeeled
1 zucchini
1 yellow squash
3 large Roma tomatoes
Sea salt, freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
Dried thyme, to taste
1/2 cup of grated Parmesan cheese 

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Coat a baking dish with olive oil cooking spray. Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Once hot, add the onions & saute until translucent, about 8 minutes. Add the garlic & cook for another 60 seconds. Spread the onion mixture on the bottom of the greased baking dish.

Slice the potatoes, zucchini, squash & tomatoes in 1/4 inch thick slices. Layer them alternately in the dish on top of the onions, fitting them tightly into a spiral, making only one layer. Season with sea salt, black pepper & dried thyme, to taste. Drizzle the last tablespoon of olive oil over the top.

Cover the dish with tin foil & bake for 35 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender. Uncover & sprinkle the Parmesan cheese on top & bake for another 25-30 minutes or until browned.


Look at all the colors!
Between the beauty of the dish & sharing Mojitos with my best friend as I was preparing this dish I was one happy girl. 


{My Thoughts}

I recommend making sure not to have the vegetables too upright. Let them lean a little forward so that when you put your seasonings on top, including the parmesan cheese, the flavor & browning is on part of the veggie & not just the tippy top.

Click Here to Print Recipe

I had leftover veggies so last night I assembled a quick version of this Tian. I didn't even saute onions & garlic for time sake. I just spiraled the vegetables & sprinkled with salt & pepper, garlic powder & some Tuscan seasoning along with the olive oil. I followed the directions & put parmesan cheese on toward the end plus a little gruyere!!! 



A Tuscan Beauty of a Dish!


Updated to add:

I just came back from my morning walk/run & had some leftover Vegetable Tian on an egg sandwich. I was licking the plate it was so good. Just an egg, over medium, with turkey bacon & a slice of cheese on a multi grain English Muffin. Heavenly!!!

42 comments:

  1. This looks absolutely amazing. Gonna have to bookmark it for later!

    Visiting you from SITS. :)

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  2. That looks yummy and pretty healthy. And just plain pretty!

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  3. I can't wait to make this one! It is beautiful and I can never get enough veggies!

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  4. Ooo.. that looks yummy!! I hope it tasted as good as it looks.. Which I am totally sure it did.

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  5. I am so glad you liked the Tian. Thanks for your kind words about my blog and adding a link back to my site. The breakfast sandwich is a terrific idea - it looks amazing!

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  6. It is gorgeous! I bet it would be amazing with some eggplant! Why do I want to pour marinara all over it before digging in?

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  7. beauty for the eyes + tasty for the tummy. a dish you can't beat.

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  8. wow i love all the colors and man does it look delicious!

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  9. Dang.......you really do eat well don't you! I had a small bowl of Kellogs red berry cereal before running to the gym. Your breakfast looks way better.

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  10. That looks almost too pretty to eat. I said almost!;)

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  11. Looks great!
    We are moving to Melbourne- 45 min or so from orlando.
    Hopefully closing around the 14th!

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  12. omg. the above person i do not know but they are living my DREAM! i want to move to the space coast area!

    but i digress.

    as my very southern nana would say: that dish is gawgeous dahlin.

    :)

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  13. That is gorgeous!!

    Thank you for stopping by my blog and leaving such sweet comments. I hope to see you there again soon:-)

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  14. sounds yummy - just wondering- did you precook the potatoes at all - I would think it would take longer for those??

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  15. Im struck by the cleanliness of your kitchen as you are cooking. When I cook, which isnt often, my kitchen looks like a tornado swept through leaving my dishes, cupboards, floors, and stove in complete disarray. It's ugly Im ashamed to admit. I never quite got the concept of clean as you go.

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  16. Girl I love eggs like that...ooozing all the good stuff (ok the bad stuff but it tastes to good) out; your my kinda girl. I am craving this breakfast sandwich now and it's 3pm!!!

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  17. This looks SO good. I'm also glad you included a picture of yourself while cooking. You should do it more often!

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  18. Do I have to share this because I think i could eat the entire thing... over several days. LOL

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  19. Oh, that looks so gorgeous!! I need to get excited about cooking veggies again. Love this!

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  20. OH YUM!!! I am SO making that tomorrow! (no meat on Fridays for me)
    DELISH!

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  21. Wow .... that looks awesome!! I will have to give it a whirl~~

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  22. YUM! This is going on the menu this weekend!

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  23. When I first saw that I was about to say no to it, but it actually looks mouthwatering.

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  24. *gasp*
    that looks fabulous!

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  25. Oh my goodness, another good one!! Looks beautiful.

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  26. This recipe just made Saturday's dinner menu! It looks so delicious. i am always trying to find ways to get creative with veggies. :o)

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  27. Michael is always looking for new ways to serve veggies. And these happen to be veggies his kids love! This will be added to our dinner list when they come for spring break! Also it looks rather healthy...so I'm pretty much positive it will be a regular at our table!

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  28. mmm...looks delicious. I might just have to try it out. thanks for the idea!

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  29. That's such a cool idea to put it on an egg sandwich! My husband would love that!

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  30. This looks great, and the photos you've taken are amazing!!! I like the one with you in it too, we don't see enough of your pretty face.

    :)
    ~Tabitha~

    freshmommyblog.com

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  31. Love all the colors! What a beautiful presentation! YUM!

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  32. Again, that looks awesome. Man, I am so hungry......

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  33. HI! I gave this recipe to my brother and he made as part of their family dinner last night! It was really good! I just love your recipes!

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  34. Oh lord have mercy, STOP with the pictures already! I was drooling after the first one. You had me at hello!

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  35. That's a beautiful dish! And the sandwich looks amazing too!!

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  36. This is fabulous. I can eat squash and zuchinni every day! Especially like this. I had red pepper flakes to mine. What a great idea to add to an egg sandwich! Apart from being so good, these vegetables also are economical!

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  37. Oh wow, Steph, this is gorgeous! I love, love, love things that are as tasty as they are beautiful to look at, and this one looks awesome! Can't wait to try it.

    In the summer, I make something kind of like this that is uncooked. It's a tomato, zucchini and summer squash spiral with a vinaigrette dressing. Similar concept just not baked - I will post it next time I make it so you can compare.

    Hugs!

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  38. I made this Sunday and wrote a post about it!! It was awesome! You might want to add labels to the post. I had to scroll through your blog to re-find the recipe!! :o)

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Something delicious to say?