I learned this vegetable tian — the Provençal vegetable dish named for the earthenware vessel it is meant to be cooked in — at l’École de Cuisine du Soleil Roger Vergé in Mougins. Roger Vergé, the French chef and restauranteur renowned for his unique style of Provençal cooking, founded the school to promote his healthful cooking approach—based on local, seasonal ingredients and a love for good food and gathering friends around the table.
Students had to master this dish, among others, while studying in Mougins. The challenge—slicing the vegetables quite thin, by hand, so that they were all precisely the same size, and arranging them in careful layers, over sweet, tender caramelized onions. Then, drenching the summer vegetables in an aromatic, fruity olive oil and covering them in fragrant garlic and Herbes de Provence—a method that insures the perfect melding of the earthy zucchini, sun-sweetened tomatoes, and summer-ripened aubergine—the great achievement of a well-made tian. All the vegetables at Verge’s were picked from the gardens at Mougins or plucked from the farmer’s market very early the same morning. Sun ripened, fragrant and delicious! Allowing the finished dish to rest after cooking further elevates these summer garden vegetables.
While wandering Instagram for recipe inspiration, I came across Eric Ripert’s tian, and I was so delighted to see those perfectly cut vegetables bubbling in the oven. I excitedly dug out my old, tattered Vergé notebook, with notes scribbled in Frenglish, and olive oil stains – I was transported back to Mougins. I made this recipe with my daughters (allowing the mandolin to cover for my rusty knife skills). It was a big hit with the family and the girls wanted to learn how to make it on their own. They took turns and experimented, creating their own versions—one night Gigi swapped the Herbes de Provence for an Italian blend we had in the kitchen, poured a delicious red sauce over the vegetables and sprinkled it with parmesan cheese—an ode to our Italian heritage. On another occasion, Kayla left out the zucchini and added a sprinkling of gruyere cheese. That is the beauty of a tian—use what you love, what is fresh, fragrant, local, and delicious to make it your own. Like our Banana Bread, this tian became a staple of our quarantine cuisine.
As with most ratatouilles, this dish will improve with age overnight in the refrigerator, and if there are leftover vegetables, cook smaller, individual tian’s to be enjoyed throughout the week—they truly get better with age. Our tians appear mostly as the main course of a healthful lunch, complemented by a garden-fresh green salad and grilled bread. They are also delightfully beautiful accompaniments to grilled fish for heartier meals, and lovely on a buffet when entertaining.
Here is a version that borrows some of Vergé’s original recipe, and some of Ripert’s.
Serving Size: 4
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
