Vegetable Tian Recipe

I decided to try out a recipe I had seen on a blog that seems very simple, yet I had never heard of it before.  A Vegetable Tian simply takes vegetables and stacks them to create a wonderfully flavored dish.  Many people utilize this as a side dish however, we enjoyed it as a main dish and I was very surprised that the kids have asked for it again and again.  It is more filling because it incorporates potatoes and the flavors are rich and delicious.  I'm looking forward to all the fresh vegetables at the Farmer's Market and this will most definetely on our menu rotation.  It would also be a wonderful dish to share at a Summer picnic or potluck because it tastes delicious when served warm or at room temperature. 

Vegetable Tian

1/2 yellow onion, sliced

2 fresh garlic cloves, minced

2 russet potatoes or 4-5 gold potatoes, peeled

2 large zucchini

1 large Summer squash

2 tomatoes

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

1 tbsp thyme

1/2 cup fresh Parmesan cheese, grated

Olive oil

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees
2. Wash, peel and thinly slice all your vegetables - I think the thin slicing is what really makes this so delicious because it's not chunky, you get all the flavors in every bite!
3. Saute onions and garlic on medium until tender, about 5-8 minutes
4. Add onions and garlic to the bottom of a pie dish and get ready to layer your vegetables
5. Start with your potato and begin to layer all your veggies....zucchini, squash, tomato
6. Repeat until your veggies are used up.  You don't want to pile more than one layer...you want them to be side by side (think of dominos)
7. Season with salt, peper, thyme
8. Top with Parmesean cheese and olive oil
9. Cover with tin foil and bake for 30 minutes, remove foil and bake for another 20 minutes
10. Let cool and enjoy!

My goal was to have a wonderful picture of this masterpiece because they are beautiful.  However, we ate the dish before I got a chance to photograph it.  It was really delicious and you can check out photos of how pretty this dish can be throughout the interet.  Take a look here at how beautiful it is!