Tomatoes are an excellent source of antioxidants including vitamins A and C, lutein, and lycopene. The carotenoid, lutein, which is found in abundance in tomatoes, green leafy vegetables, and egg yolks, may help promote cognitive function and prevent age-related macular degeneration and cataracts, and breast cancer. With tomato season in full swing, we thought we would spend the month exploring the many delicious uses for this versatile summer bounty.
This week’s recipe for Summer Vegetable Tian is a delicious tribute to your backyard garden harvest or farmer’s market haul. It was sent to CCSA as part of a series of emails from our resident chef, Dr. Linda Doody. She began sharing her extensive collection of favorite recipes with friends, family, and the CCSA team as a means of maintaining connections during the COVID-19 pandemic and it has since become a company tradition.
“When baking, follow directions. When cooking, go by your own taste.”
– Laiko Bahrs
Summer Vegetable Tian
Everyday Dorie: The Way I Cook, Dorie Greenspan (2008)
Notes
Ms. Greenspan was a columnist for The New York Times Magazine and has written 14 cookbooks. She has also won 5 James Beard Awards—1 for journalism; 3 for cookbooks (Baking with Julia [1996], Baking from My Home to Yours [2006], Dorie’s Cookies [2016]); and 1 for being voted into the Who’s Who of Food and Beverage in America—as well as 2 Cookbook of the Year Awards from the International Association of Culinary Professionals (Desserts by Pierre Hermé [1998] and Around My French Table [2010]).
Ingredients
- 5 to 9 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil (the lower amount will result in a flavorful tian with just enough sauce to keep the vegetables moist; the higher amount will provide enough oil for dunking bread)
- 3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced (a small mandoline [e.g., Benriner] is handy for slicing garlic)
- ~10 sprigs fresh herbs (parsley, rosemary, tarragon, thyme, and/or basil)
- Fine sea salt
- Black pepper, freshly ground
- 1½ pounds tomatoes (fresh, ripe, in-season tomatoes from the backyard or farmer’s market are highly recommended)
- ½ pound green or yellow zucchini, washed and trimmed (other types of summer squash can be substituted [e.g., pattypan, yellow, zephyr])
- ¼ pound eggplant, washed and trimmed
- ¼ pound red onions
- Good French or sourdough bread, for serving
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F. Pour 2 Tbsp olive oil into a 9-inch pie plate or oven-proof baking dish (e.g., glazed ceramic). Tilt the dish so that the oil coats the sides. Scatter half the garlic and a little more than half the herbs in the bottom of the baking dish and season generously with salt and pepper.
- Slice the vegetables into rounds about ¼-inch thick. Ideally, they should all be approximately the same size; if particularly large, cut the vegetable in half the long way before slicing. Arrange the vegetables in the baking dish in tightly overlapping circles with eggplant slices between tomato slices (to soak up the juices), and zucchini and red onion slices “cuddled” together. Season generously with salt and pepper, and tuck the remaining garlic in among the vegetables. Top with the remaining herbs (left photo) and drizzle with as much of the remaining olive oil as desired.
- Place the tian on a baking sheet lined with foil, parchment, or a silicon mat. Bake at 400°F for 70–90 minutes, until the vegetables are very tender and the juices are bubbling; the vegetables should “melt and border on jam.” Serve a few minutes out of the oven or allow to cool to room temperature. Serve with good bread.
- The tian can be reheated (microwave or 350°F oven), or the vegetables can be repurposed as a topping for bruschetta or pizza, a pasta sauce (with red pepper flakes), or served alongside ricotta or burrata.