Tian Provençal

Tian Provençal is a classic vegetable dish from southern France. In a shallow oven dish, slices of tomato, courgette and aubergine are arranged in overlapping layers, with onion, garlic, olive oil and Provençal herbs. This tian is at its best served lukewarm.

Serves: 4
Preparation: approx. 20 minutes
Cooking: approx. 45–60 minutes
Total time: approx. 65–80 minutes

Ingredients

For 4 people

• 4 ripe tomatoes
• 2 small courgettes
• 2 small aubergines
• 1 medium onion
• 6 cloves of garlic
• 4–5 tablespoons olive oil, plus extra for greasing the oven dish
• 2 teaspoons Provençal herbs (for example a mixture of thyme, oregano and a little rosemary)
• sea salt or table salt
• freshly ground black pepper

Preparation

• Preheat the oven to 180 °C (conventional).
• Lightly grease a shallow, roomy oven dish with olive oil.
• Peel the onion, halve it and slice into thin half-rings.
• Peel the garlic and finely chop the cloves.
• Wash the tomatoes, courgettes and aubergines. Trim the ends and slice all the vegetables into slices about 3–4 mm thick.

Method

1. Heat olive oil in a frying pan
   Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a frying pan over a moderate heat.
2. Fry the onion until soft and translucent
   Fry the onion gently for 8–10 minutes, until translucent and lightly golden. Stir occasionally and do not let it brown.
3. Spread the onion over the oven dish
   Spread the fried onion evenly over the bottom of the greased oven dish.
4. Arrange the vegetables in overlapping layers in the dish
   Now arrange the vegetable slices in the dish: stand them upright and lay them in overlapping layers, alternating, for example in the order aubergine, courgette, tomato. Continue until the dish is nicely filled. The slices may be fairly close together, but not packed in.
5. Sprinkle the garlic between and over the vegetables
   Sprinkle the finely chopped garlic evenly between and over the vegetables.
6. Season with herbs, salt and pepper
   Sprinkle with the Provençal herbs, a generous pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper.
7. Drizzle with olive oil
   Drizzle the remaining olive oil (3–4 tablespoons) evenly over the vegetables.
8. Bake the tian in the oven
   Place the dish in the middle of the preheated oven. Bake the tian for 45–60 minutes, until the vegetables are soft, the top is lightly coloured and there is only a little, slightly reduced liquid left in the dish.
9. Check and cover if necessary
   Check after about 40 minutes: if the top is getting too dark while the vegetables are not yet soft, loosely cover the dish with aluminium foil and continue baking.
10. Serve the tian lukewarm
    Preferably serve the tian lukewarm. The dish is delicious as a side dish with grilled fish, chicken or lamb chops, but also works very well with a piece of crusty bread and a green salad as a light meal.