Summer always seems far too short. But this year, more than ever, I’m not ready to let it go just yet. I live in Los Angeles so I know we’ll have more sunshine. Still, I can feel the nip in the air despite the golden glow of summer’s last light. There will be more dinners outside and I’m sure to dangle my feet in the pool a few more times. However, the lure of sweaters and soup is just around the corner. So for now, I’m hell‑bent on keeping summer going as long as I can with this Tian Provençal.
Tomato-Eggplant Tian Provençal
Originating in sunny Provence, tian is a French word that describes a shallow ceramic casserole dish as well as the food it contains. Traditionally it features a variety of vegetables, herbs and cheeses layered and baked – much like a gratin (or even a casserole). You’ll often see the ingredients carefully constructed with beautiful rounds lined up in a repeating pattern (à la Thomas Keller in the movie Ratatouille). Which is an arrangement that very much appeals to the artist in me. However, the vegetables in my Tomato-Eggplant Tian Provençal are laid into the dish in a more casual manner. Which, in my opinion, has its own artful elegance well-suited to the late season glut of vegetables we’re seeing at our farmers market.
In fact, it was a bag of gnarled end-of-season tomatoes and a couple of collasal eggplants that inspired the casual approach to this tian. I served it as an open-faced sandwich on lightly toasted olive bread at what I know will be one of the last languorous meals the season. GREG
This dish is delicious served warm from the oven, but it’s even better served at room temperature the next day.
Ingredients
- 1 ½ pound eggplant (about 2 medium globe eggplants)
- 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme leaves (divided)
- ½ teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary leaves
- 1 clove garlic (peeled and minced)
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt (plus more for seasoning)
- ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- ¼ cup olive oil (plus more as needed as needed)
- 1 pound medium tomatoes
- 4 ounce crumbled goat cheese (divided)
- ½ cup panko breadcrumbs
- freshly cracked black pepper (as needed for seasoning)
- 10–12 slice olive bread (lightly toasted if you like)
- very good extra virgin olive oil (to taste)
Directions
Heat oven to 400 degrees F.
Peel the eggplant and then slice crosswise into thin rounds (about ⅓ inch thick). Place the slices into a large bowl and toss them with half the thyme leaves, rosemary leaves, garlic, 1 teaspoon salt, red pepper flakes, and ¼ cup olive oil. Set aside.
Slice off the stem end of the all the tomatoes and discard. Slice the rest of the tomatoes crosswise into thin rounds (about ⅓ inch thick). Place the slices into a large bowl and set aside.
Arrange about one-third of the eggplant slices in a single layer, slighting overlapping, on the bottom of 2‑quart baking dish (or similarly sized casserole dish such as a French tian). Spread about half the crumbled goat cheese over the eggplant slices, then layer half the tomatoes, slightly overlapping, on top of the cheese. Repeat the process with another third of the eggplant slices, the remaining goat cheese, and the remaining tomatoes slices. Top the tian with the final third of eggplant slices, then drizzle any liquid remaining in the bowls over the top.
Sprinkle the panko and remaining thyme leaves over the top evenly and then drizzle generously with additional olive oil. Season with salt and black pepper.
Transfer the dish to the oven and bake until golden and bubbly, about one hour. Serve warm or room temperature scooped on top of olive bread slices and drizzled with very good extra virgin olive oil.
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This with a glass of wine, Heaven.
How delicious. If you start to miss summer, you’re welcome to visit Chicago. It’s still in the 90s here. Bring the tian.
Yes, autumn is around the corner! Autumn comes slow to north Florida but, I am so ready.
This is a beautiful late summer Tian-very nice!
I love Tians — such a versatile, catch-all recipe. I often wonder if ‘tian’ means, ‘whatever is in the fridge,’ Yours looks incredibly tasty!
On another note, I am sitting here in Siena, and the other night wanted to make a tagliata over arugula. I recalled your instructions for searing and cooking steak, and looked them up. It was then that I realized I had been dropped from your feed. I simply thought you had gone a an extended vacation! Obviously — and sadly for you — you are not. I now seem many posts I need to catch up on… sorry if you thought I was MIA!
Yes. I have noticed a HUGE fall-off and have only recently figured out that hundreds (maybe more) of my email followers were dropped. I don’t know why. The trouble may stem from the fact that (over the years) I have had several plugins for followers to use. One of them may have malfunctioned. As I’m not tech mart enough to figure it out my best suggestion is to re-subscribe via the form on my homepage. Sorry. GREG
It’s almost a panic like feeling for me, the fear of the end of summer. It also just sneaks up on me. The days are hot and seem endless, then all of a sudden, out of the blue, temperatures plummet and it’s too damn cold to keep the windows open at night. What happened? We are presently having a heat wave, high temperatures and unreasonably high humidity is making fall a bit more challenging this year, but as soon as we are back to normal, and I feel like turning the oven on again, this tasty dish will be the first on my list. End of summer tomatoes and those deliciously creamy eggplants will make this dish unforgettable.
Anything eggplant and tomato is my jam. It’s way too hot here in Nashville (sticky, spiders, snakes, hello September). I’m ready for cool air!