Salut! I made a tian!
After making my Moroccan Ratatouille (funnily, exactly one month ago today), I was desperate to give the ‘traditional ratatouille’ dish another go. This time, I fancied attempting a glorious tian, which is essentially the same as ratatouille (courgettes, aubergine, tomato), except far more sassy in appearance & baked like a gratin. For this dish you will need: tomatoes, courgette (zucchini), aubergine (eggplant), onions (preferably red), garlic, thyme, olive oil, a working oven (of your choice) & a little bit of patience. Scroll down for the exact recipe!
Begin by frying your finely chopped onions & crushed garlic in a little oil. Sprinkle with thyme and simmer for about 10 minutes until the onions begin to soften. These will form the base for your dish (as y’all can see). Whilst those are simmering away, begin the gargantuan (it’s not that bad) task of chopping your beautiful veggies. You’ll want to finely slice the courgettes and aubergines to about 2mm thick, and the tomatoes a little thicker to about 3mm. Once these are all prepped and ready to go, use a handful of the courgettes to create a thin layer over your onions. Now you’re ready to begin the arranging!
I’ll admit, the artistic layering of veggies did take quite a while, but just LOOK at the finished article. It’s definitely worth persevering. I also made some absolutely divine sweet potato fries, although this would also go perfectly with a good old fashioned baked potato. This dish took 40 mins in the oven & don’t forget to drizzle in a little oil before cooking.
I got the recipe from Rachel Khoo’s ‘My Little French Kitchen’. Have any of yous got this? It’s a glorious read, with quite a few vegetarian and vegan recipe options. Lemme know if you approve!
Recipe:
(serves 4-6 apparently, but I found this was more realistic between 3 or 4 people. Unless your dinner guests are mice, in which case it might just stretch to 6 portions)
4 red onions [I used 3 onions & only one of them was red #rebel] / 4 cloves of garlic / thyme / 1 aubergine (I used 1.5) / 1 courgette (I used 2) / 5/6 firm plum tomatoes (the firmer the better, especially for fiddly slices!) / a pinch of salt & a good drizzle of oil
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