Eggplant, Zucchini, Tomato Vegetable Tian

Tian.

Does saying it in French makes it more sophisticated? Simply, it is traditional oven-roasted vegetables layers in an earthenware.


Here, a not-so-traditional approach has been adopted for the vegetable tian; or more accurately, it should not be even called a tian since I did not use any earthenware. Instead, a roasting tray with parchment paper is used so that there is no tray or dish to wash after cooking: fuss-free, mess-free. Call it vegetables tian catered to the (lazy) home-cooks.


The only similar action done to mimic the vegetable tian is to prepare and slice the vegetables pretty and layer them pretty. Tian and ratatouille might share similarities in their origin being Provencal French, and both being centered around vegetables such as zucchini, eggplant, tomatoes, onions; but tian is a layered roast while ratatouille is a diced-up stew.

Vegetable Tian
adapted from Martha Stewart

Ingredients:
2 small zucchini, thinly sliced
1 long Chinese eggplant, thinly sliced (option to use other eggplant variety)
2 Roma tomatoes, thiny sliced
1/2 onions, thinly sliced
Handful of cilantro (or any fresh herbs), roughly chopped
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions: Preheat oven 400F. Brush organic canola oil on the parchment paper. Start layering the vegetables. Dash of salt and black pepper over the vegetables, then sprinkle half of fresh herbs on to the vegetable then roast for about 40-50mins. When cooked, sprinkle remaining fresh herbs to the roast, then add 1-2 tbsp of extra-virgin olive oil across the roast. More salt and black pepper to taste if required.

Serve as side-dish to roasted fish (e.g. Herb-Roasted Whole Trout) or chicken (e.g. Herb & Garlic Roasted Chicken).


I have made ratatouille-inspired vegetable roast previously, and today, this tian-inspired vegetable roast. In addition to the steaming-method, these roast options can also load up a lot of vegetables at one-go of cooking.

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