Dorie’s Summer Vegetable Tian

Before the last of the summer vegetables give way to fall, you must make Dorie’s summer vegetable tian! Slices of eggplant, tomato, zucchini and onion lush with olive oil, herbs and garlic are baked until they are just about falling apart, 70-90 minutes. Slice up some good bread and that’s all you need for a meal! If you need to, add some simple sausages to round out the meal. I did the first time I made this, then realized the summer vegetable tian was satisfying all on its own.

The recipe came from Everyday Dorie: The Way I Cook by Dorie Greenspan. A tian is both the name of the casserole dish you bake the dish in and the dish itself. Dorie says she just uses a 9 inch pie plate. I used a smaller ceramic rectangular baking dish because I cut her recipe in half roughly. I love eggplant and bought one just to make this but if you’re not a fan you could leave it out. You can serve it fresh out of the oven or let it cool down to room temperature.

Print Recipe

Dorie’s Summer Vegetable Tian

Cook Time1 hour hr 30 minutes mins

Servings: 3

Ingredients

• 5-9 Tbs olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 10 sprigs fresh herbs: parsley, thyme, rosemary, tarragon, basil — whatever you have
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1.5 pounds tomatoes
• 1/2 pound zucchini
• 1/4 pound eggplant
• 1/4 pound red onion

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 400 F.
• Put 2 Tbs of the oil in the baking dish and swirl it around to coat the bottom.
• Scatter the sliced garlic and half the herbs in the oil and season with salt and pepper.
• Slice the tomatoes, zucchini, eggplant and onion to roughly even thickness, about 1/4" thick.
• Put the sliced vegetables in the dish in tight overlapping layers. Try to put eggplant next the tomato so it can soak up the juices. If your zucchini are smaller than the other vegetables, use 2 or more slices with each layer so each layer is about the same width.
• Salt and pepper to taste, then top with the rest of the garlic and herbs and drizzle over as much olive oil as you'd like (3-7 Tbs).
• Bake for 70-90 minutes, until the vegetables are almost jammy.
• Let cool a few minutes before serving or let cool down to room temperature. Either way, serve with good sliced bread for sopping up the oil and juices.