Vegetable tian recipe

 
The colours of vegetables are like burnished jewels after long and slow cooking. Once cooked, this dish can sit quite happily for a few hours at room temperature before serving, only needing a drizzle of olive oil and a scattering of basil leaves before you do. Tracy Valentina Wood’s vegetable tian recipe is simple but utterly delicious and packed with flavour.

Vegetable Tian Serves 6

4 large Roma (egg shaped) tomatoes
3 large courgettes
1 slim medium aubergine
1½ tbsp coarse salt
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced, plus 1 garlic clove, halved
A small handful of kalamata olives, torn in half
8 sprigs of fresh thyme
4 fresh bay leaves
1tbsp extra virgin olive oil, and ½ cup extra
Sea salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper
A handful of basil leaves
Preheat oven to 180C (Gas Mark 6/400F).

Slice the tomatoes, courgettes, and aubergine into thin rounds 3mm thick, also halving the aubergine lengthways if it’s much bigger in diameter than the other vegetables.

Drain the tomatoes and courgettes on kitchen paper and place the aubergine slices in a colander, sprinkle with coarse salt, and leave to drain for 20 minutes, then pat dry with kitchen paper.

Rub the cut garlic clove over the base of a gratin dish (measuring approximately

20 x 30cm), and drizzle with a tablespoon of olive oil.

Starting from the outside of the dish, arrange the vegetables tightly, working your way into the centre of the dish. Tuck an olive half, a slice of garlic and a bay leaf in every now and then.

Scatter with the thyme sprigs, season well with salt and pepper, and brush with olive oil.

Bake for 30 minutes. Turn the oven down to 160C (Gas Mark 3/320 F), brush the vegetables with olive oil and bake for another 30 minutes. Turn down oven to 140C (Gas Mark 1/280 F) , brush with more olive oil, and continue to cook for another 30 minutes. Check to see if tender, and if so, remove from oven, let cool for 10 minutes, scatter with basil leaves and serve.

Tracy Valentina Wood is a food stylist based in Sydney whose work encompasses social media, editorial, print, video, and television. Her clients include global giants as well as small local producers – and pretty much everything in between, including several seasons as chef de cuisine at the Chateau de Gudanes in southwest France. You can find more of her delicious recipes at: tracyvalentinawood.com

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