Late summer in France calls for a beautiful French recipe known as a Vegetable Tian. It’s packed with seasonal vegetables and simmered in a bed of tomato sauce.
A vegetable Tian makes a great side dish for Grilled Chicken, Roast Chicken, Beef Tenderloin, or Lamb Chops. It’s also great the next day, served cold!
It’s also such a fun recipe to make, and placing the vegetables just right becomes practically meditative!
A Tian, like its cousin the ratatouille, originates in the region of Provence, in Southern France.
They both call for tomatoes, zucchini, eggplant, and sometimes yellow neck squash. But the difference between the two lies in the cooking method.
Traditionally, ratatouille is simmered on the cooktop, whereas a tian is roasted in the oven.
I love them both, but I can not help being seduced by the beauty of a tian! The sliced vegetables, in a dizzying pattern, create a real “WOW” factor, making it ideal for entertaining!
A fluted ceramic quiche dish works perfectly for a Tian, because the fluting helps to keep the vegetables in place.
The best way to get this type of precision is with a Mandoline. Personally, I’ve tried a lot of models of this intimidating kitchen gadget, and I must say the easiest, safest model I’ve tried is, hands down, the OXO Mandoline.
It’s worth the extra money for the features it provides! And you can use it for my Gratin Dauphinois and Potatoes Anna recipe too.
You can find my ratatouille recipe in my new cookbook! I love this recipe because it’s equally good served hot or cold, and delicious thrown into an omelet the next day!
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