Tian de légumes – Provençal sliced vegetable bake Recipe
This is a colorful bake made from thinly sliced vegetables – eggplant, zucchini, tomatoes, and potatoes – arranged in rows like a fan. In France, especially in Provence, this dish is prepared in summer when vegetables are cheapest and at their most flavorful. It looks impressive, like from a restaurant, but in fact it’s a very simple way to make roasted vegetables.
This tian showcases simple summer vegetables in a visually stunning way, turning basic ingredients into an elegant, restaurant-worthy dish with minimal effort. Slow baking concentrates the flavors, and the herbs and garlic bring a distinctly Provençal character.
Chef's tips
Try to cut all the vegetables to a similar thickness so they cook evenly. If your eggplant is slightly bitter, you can lightly salt the slices and let them sit for 15–20 minutes, then pat dry before arranging in the dish. If the top browns too quickly, loosely cover it with foil for the last part of baking.
How to serve
Serve as a light vegetarian main with crusty bread and a green salad, or pair it with grilled fish, roast chicken, or lamb chops. A spoonful of pesto or a drizzle of good-quality extra virgin olive oil on top just before serving adds extra aroma.
Ingredients
- eggplant medium, thinly sliced - 1 piece
- zucchini medium, thinly sliced - 2 piece
- tomatoes medium, firm, sliced - 4 piece
- potatoes medium, peeled, thinly sliced - 3 piece
- onion thinly sliced into feathers - 1 piece
- garlic finely chopped - 3 cloves
- olive oil - 4 tablespoons
- dried Herbes de Provence - 1.5 teaspoons
- salt to taste
- black pepper to taste
Preparation
- Preheat the oven to 190°C (top and bottom heat). Grease a baking dish with 1 tablespoon of olive oil.
- Spread the sliced onion and half of the chopped garlic over the bottom of the dish. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt and pepper.
- Slice the eggplant, zucchini, tomatoes, and potatoes into thin slices of similar thickness (about 3–4 mm).
- Arrange the vegetable slices upright in the dish, alternating: a slice of potato, eggplant, zucchini, tomato, and so on, until you fill the entire dish. If you have a few slices left, tuck them into any gaps.
- In a small bowl, mix the remaining olive oil, the rest of the garlic, the dried Herbes de Provence, and a pinch of salt and pepper.
- Pour the mixture over the vegetables, trying to let the oil run down between the slices.
- Cover the dish with aluminum foil and place in the oven for 30 minutes.
- After 30 minutes, remove the foil and bake for another 15–20 minutes, until the vegetables are soft and the top is lightly browned. Check with a fork that the potatoes are tender – they take the longest to cook.
- Serve warm as a main dish with bread, or as a side to meat or fish.
Storage
No storage information available for this dish.
This is one of those dishes that looks much more complicated than it really is. Once you’ve sliced the vegetables, the oven does all the work, and you get a fragrant, colorful bake that’s perfect for sharing at a summer dinner.
