Vegetable Tian with Zucchini, Squash, and Eggplant

A Provençal tian isn’t a stew, it’s a way of stacking: vegetables sliced thin and stood shoulder to shoulder over a sauce so they settle together in the oven instead of collapsing into mush. The number that matters is 2–3 mm, barely an eighth of an inch — cut them unevenly and the thin rounds scorch before the thick ones are cooked.

The sauce bakes alone for 15 minutes first, which lets the tinned tomatoes drive off some liquid and thicken while the garlic and bell pepper lose their raw bite. The sour cream in it is not remotely Provençal — this is smetana, the thick cultured cream of Eastern Europe. Use full-fat American sour cream or crème fraîche; low-fat versions split under oven heat.

Three things before it goes in

Salt the eggplant generously for five to seven minutes, then rinse and pat dry — the salt pulls out bitterness and water so the rounds hold their shape. Keep the dish covered for the first 40 minutes so the vegetables cook in their own steam, then uncover it for the last 20 or they stay pale. And unlike the parsley, the chives never see the oven: scattered over the finished tian, they keep the color and onion snap that heat would flatten.

Part of French cuisine — 28 more recipes in the section.

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